Afghans Say NATO Airstrike Killed at Least 25 Civilians in the South
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KABUL, Afghanistan, June 22 — At least 25 civilians, including nine women, three infants and an elderly village mullah, were killed in an airstrike early Friday morning when they were caught in a battle between Taliban and NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, the police chief of Helmand Province said.
The situation was grimly familiar: the Taliban launched an attack under the cover of darkness and then retreated into the village of Kunjakak in the Grishk district of Helmand. NATO commanders ordered air support, and the result was devastating.
Lt. Col. Mike Smith, a NATO spokesman, said in a written statement that perhaps 30 Taliban insurgents had been killed in the airstrike, adding that while an unknown number of innocents might have lost their lives, the fault was entirely the enemy's. "In choosing to conduct such attacks in this location at this time, the risk to civilians was probably deliberate," Colonel Smith said. "It is this irresponsible action that may have led to casualties."
Afghans are not only angry with the Taliban, whose terrorizing tactics include using suicide attacks and concealed roadside bombs, they are also upset by what they see as the sometimes indiscriminate death toll of allied bombs and rockets.
That concern has been echoed by foreign charities working in the country. Earlier this week, Acbar — a coalition of Afghan and international relief agencies that include CARE, Save the Children and the Mercy Corps — criticized the United States and its allies, saying that hasty military action has led to at least 230 civilian deaths this year.
"Members of Acbar recognize the challenges faced by soldiers in a battlefield environment, but military forces must at all times respect international humanitarian and human rights law," the organization said. "Notably, forces must distinguish between civilians and combatants and use force strictly in proportion with legitimate military objectives."
Acbar's critique went beyond airstrikes. It noted 14 instances in which civilians had been "killed for simply driving or walking too closely" to foreign soldiers. It mentioned "abusive raids and searches of Afghan homes" that have sapped support for both international aid workers and the multinational military presence.
Little is known about Friday's fighting in Kunjakak. Helmand Province's police chief, Muhammad Hussein Andiwal, said that the battle began Thursday night and that the Taliban used at least two civilian compounds in their efforts to escape.
These are brutal days in Afghanistan. The Taliban have launched several suicide attacks, including Sunday's bombing of a police bus in Kabul that killed 24 people. On Monday, seven children were killed in a religious compound during an airstrike by the United States-led coalition in the eastern province of Paktika. There are reports that dozens of civilians have died during days of fighting in the Chora district of Uruzgan Province in the south.
"This past week has been very tough," said Christopher Alexander, the deputy special representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Afghanistan. "I've seen the reports. In the Chora attack, the Taliban literally slit the throats of men, women and children and burned the bodies. But there was also close air support that killed civilians," he said, referring to the NATO airstrike.
Various groups here in Kabul keep a running tally of casualties; there is wide variation in numbers. According to Mr. Alexander, during the past two years the number of wartime dead has risen fourfold. So far this year, the United Nations has counted about 2,800 deaths, which is 20 to 30 percent above the pace of 2006.
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