US Accused of Killing Woman, Seven Children in Afghanistan Airstrike

While US, Karzai's versions of incident conflict, both indicate civilians were again collateral damage

Andrea Germanos

Common Dreams

 

(Photo: U.S. Army)

A soldier in Parwan province, Afghanistan. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has accused the U.S. of killing one woman and seven children in an airstrike early Wednesday.

"Afghanistan for years demanded a complete halt in operations in villages but the Americans, contrary to mutual agreement ... once again resorted to bombing a residential area and killing civilians," Reuters reports Karzai as saying in a statement.

The Washington Post reports that

According to Karzai and the governor of Parwan province, the incident occurred about 1 a.m. when U.S. Special Forces attempted to enter a home. A gun battle ensued, resulting in a coalition airstrike that killed the children and a female relative in the house, they said.

The U.S./NATO-led Afghan Security Assistance Force (ISAF) released a statement saying that two civilians and "at least 10 insurgents" were killed "during a deliberately-planned, Afghan-led clearing operation to disrupt insurgent activity in Ghorband district, Parwan province."

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