Kandahar, Afghanistan - Afghan villagers brought the bodies
of 17 civilians, most of them children, to a provincial governor's
office in southern Afghanistan and blamed NATO airstrikes for the
deaths, officials said Friday.
Afghan officials confirmed that Afghan army and NATO aircraft
engaged a group of Taliban militants Thursday in the Nad Ali district
of Helmand province, resulting in the deaths of several Taliban
militants.
The same day, villagers in the district's Loy Bagh area, brought
the bodies of 17 civilians, including 13 children, and placed them
before the governor's office, said Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the
provincial governor.
'It is not yet confirmed if the civilians were killed in aerial
bombardments or Taliban's rocket attacks or some other kinds of
blasts,' Ahmadi said, adding that the government was investigating
the incident.
Haji Abdul Manan, a local elder from the Nad Ali district, said by
phone that at least 27 people were killed in the airstrike and the
rest of the bodies were still under rubble.
Assadullah Shirzad, a provincial spokesman, said Thursday's
operation resulted in some civilian casualties and the deaths of
several Taliban.
'We know that there were some civilian casualties, but at the
moment, we can't confirm the number,' he said.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said
it was aware of an incident involving its aircraft in the district
but could not confirm any civilian killings.
'This incident is being investigated, and at this time, we are
unable to confirm any civilian casualties,' the ISAF said in a
statement.
Civilian casualties have become a sensitive issue between the
Afghan government and foreign militaries in Afghanistan, which were
deployed there after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban
regime by a US-led invasion in late 2001.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered a review of foreign military
operations after an airstrike in the Shindand district of the western
province of Herat on August 22, which killed more than 90 civilians,
mostly children.
Afghanistan's defence minister, General Abdul Rahim Wardak, said
at a news conference last week that NATO officials agreed at a
meeting in Budapest earlier this month that the alliance would be
modest in using its air power to avoid civilian deaths during
anti-insurgent operations.
Back to Helmand, there have been several clashes between Afghan
and Taliban insurgents in the province this week. Afghan officials
claimed to have killed more than 200 militants in the past week.
Most of the militants, who had massed around the provincial
capital to attack the city, were killed in NATO airstrikes.
Provincial officials said they believe hundreds of foreign
fighters have poured into the province recently to back indigenous
militants in their insurgency.
More than 4,000 people - mostly insurgents, but including at least
1,500 civilians - have been killed in the Afghan conflict so far this
year, according to figures provided by military sources.
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