[QODLink]
Central & South Asia
Nato strike kills Afghan civilians
Reports of second deadly attack in as many days on Afghan civilians.
Last Modified: 05 Mar 2007 10:23 GMT
The attack comes just a day after another
deadly attack near Jalalabad [AFP]
Nine civilians, including two children, have been killed after a Nato air attack hit a house in northern Afghanistan according to a local official.

Sayed Daud Hashimi, a deputy provincial governor in the Kapisa province, said five women were among the dead overnight on Monday after artillery fire hit their home in the area north of Kabul.
Hashimi said a Nato provincial reconstruction team base came under attack in the province "and they responded with artillery and an air strike, killing nine Afghan civilians".

The interior ministry confirmed there was an incident in the Nijrab district involving "some casualties" but said it was trying to find out more details.

William Mitchell, a spokesman for the US military, said officials were looking into the incident. The Nato base in Kapisa is staffed by US forces.

Further fatalities

The reported attack comes just a day after US forces killed up to 16 civilians in the eastern province of Nangarhar, after they opened fire following a car bomb attack on their convoy.

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, condemned the killings earlier on Monday and ordered an investigation into Sunday's attack.

His office and the Afghan interior ministry on Monday put the death toll at 10 civilians while the coalition late on Sunday said eight Afghans were killed and 35 wounded.

Hours after the attack several hundred demonstrators gathered at the site, about 50km from the city of Jalalabad, to protest. They blocked the road in the Marko area for several hours.

Reports said demonstrators chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Karzai."

The interior ministry on Sunday night said that the civilians were killed by gunfire from the foreign troops, but on Monday a spokesman said it was unclear exactly how they died.

Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
In the frozen peaks of Afghanistan's Kunar province, a ferocious clash for supremacy rages amid the mountaintops.
Indigenous community with "third world conditions" sits 90km from diamond mine, prompting fight for resource royalties.
There is a unique and dangerous commerce system at work in Amazonia, where children risk their lives for a few pennies.
Organisations that influence social, cultural and political issues in the US have been hijacked by the far right.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go