 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
NATO air strike kills three Afghan civilians: officials
Kandahar (AFP) Dec 18, 2009 A NATO air strike against suspected militants in troubled southern Afghanistan killed three civilians and wounded one other, local government and hospital officials said Friday. The civilians were in a minibus travelling just before midnight on the main southern highway when they were attacked by helicopter gunships in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, the provincial governor's office said. "Three male civilians have been killed and a woman has been wounded as a result of this attack," a statement read. Their bodies were taken back to their home province of Uruzgan, the provincial health director told AFP. "Three dead bodies were brought to us in Uruzgan today and the wounded woman has been taken by the foreign forces for treatment," Uruzgan's health director Khan Agha Miakhail said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said they were targeting militants planting roadside bombs, and were investigating reports that civilians were killed in the strike. "Initial operational reports indicate that men were emplacing an IED (improvised explosive device) next to the road," ISAF said in a statement. "After firing on the men from a helicopter, ISAF forces discovered civilians in a car adjacent to the IED site." Civilian casualties are highly sensitive in Afghanistan, where officials say it creates animosity against the Western-backed government and 113,000 NATO and US forces fighting against an escalating Taliban insurgency. President Hamid Karzai has long called on foreign troops to avoid civilian casualties during operations against insurgents in the eight-year war against mainly Taliban militants. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links News From Across The Stans
Turkish army issues fresh warning over smear driveAnkara (AFP) Dec 17, 2009 Turkey's chief of staff Thursday lashed out at a "psychological campaign" to smear the army and warned of a "confrontation" over claims it was seeking to discredit and even oust the ruling party. His remarks followed suggestions that a deadly attack on soldiers last week might have been orchestrated to undermine the government. "Some circles have been carrying out a (...) psychological ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook