Women, children among 18 Afghans dead in NATO wedding strike - report (PHOTOS)

Published time: June 06, 2012 11:45
Edited time: June 07, 2012 12:36
Afghan villagers sit on the back of a vehicle carrying dead bodies of children who were killed in a NATO airstrike on a home in Sajawand village in Logar province south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)

A NATO airstrike in the eastern Afghan province of Logar has killed 18 people, including women and children, local officials report. A NATO spokesperson said a team had been deployed to investigate the claims of civilian casualties.

Local officials said on Wednesday that the pre-dawn strike on a house in the eastern Logar province killed five women, seven children and six men, some of whom may have been militants. AFP news agency also released a photo with victims piled into the back of a vehicle.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai issued a statement on Thursday, saying all 18 people killed in a NATO air strike on Wednesday were civilians.

The Afghan president has called the incident "unacceptable."

NATO forces insist that at least some of the victims were militants and have sent an assessment team to investigate the case.

Local villagers are now reportedly driving the bodies to the capital of Logar province to protest the NATO strike which they say hit a house in the district of Baraki Barak.

ISAF released a statement, confirming a pre-dawn operation aimed at the capture of a Taliban leader in Logar.

"During the operation, insurgents attacked the Afghan and coalition troops with small-arms fire and a grenade," said the NATO statement.

In response, alliance forces “returned fire and requested a precision airstrike."

­Meanwhile, multiple blasts killed 22 people and wounded at least 50 others as three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday.

One bomber detonated a three-wheeled motorbike filled with explosives, police said. Then, as people rushed to assist the wounded, two other bombers walked up to the scene and blew themselves up.

The attack took place about five kilometers from the main gate of a massive military installation run by NATO, and some 500 meters from an Afghan military base.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the bombings.

­

Civilian casualties mounting

Reports of NATO actions in Afghanistan causing civilian casualties are not rare. In the end of May, local officials from the eastern province of Paktia claimed that a coalition strike killed an Afghan family, including six children.

In February Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused NATO of killing seven children in a strike in the north-east of the country.

The casualties, however, do not always come from air strikes. In March an alleged shooting rampage by a NATO soldier resulted in 17 civilian deaths in the province of Kandahar. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who was accused of the massacre, was whisked out of the country to a US detention center.

Civilian deaths resulting from US-led coalition actions have been a bone of contention in Afghanistan for quite some time. Karzai has regularly condemned such events, saying the strategic partnership is meaningless if the lives of Afghan people are not safe.

Last year saw more than 3,000 Afghan civilians killed in violence according to a UN report. The document attributed 14 per cent of these deaths to actions by international and Afghan troops.

Afghan villagers search for dead bodies of people who were killed in a NATO airstrike on a home in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)
Afghan villagers search for dead bodies of people who were killed in a NATO airstrike on a home in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)
An Afghan villager stands at a house which was hit by a NATO airstrike in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)
An Afghan villager stands at a house which was hit by a NATO airstrike in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)
An Afghan villager stands at a house which was hit by a NATO airstrike in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)
An Afghan villager stands at a house which was hit by a NATO airstrike in Sajawand village in Logar province, south of Kabul on June 6, 2012 (AFP Photo/Sabawoon Amarkhil)

Comments (88)

TEN MIRV (unregistered) 09.06.2012 05:14

No trust for RT anymore (unregistered) wrote in #8
RT no longer holds the position of a valid and trustworthy 'news' site for me anymore, due to the completely biased reporting of many topics and events. The corporation is very prone to massive exxageration and huge sensationalism. The sad thing is, many of you (presumably young, uneducated and unknowledgable) readers believe it in preference to western media, including the legally balanced BBC. One recent example is the RT coverage of the Royal Diamond Jubilee, where the event was denounced as 'pompous' and only one side of view was given as evidence of non-support- that of a laughably small minority, Republic. No balance was apparent, and still many of you idiots reading this site took the view of Republic (and stupidly biased RT) to be widespread amongst Britons, when in actual fact it was not. Anyway, my point is, stories like these that are clearly heavily exaggerated and sensationalised have proven that RT is not a credible site for newsgatherers- more like a turn-to for the stupid, the angry and conspiracy-nutters, who are prone to Russian propoganda.                                                                                                                          P.s. Please stop going on about this stupid Zionist conspiracy, or the reptilian one etc. They're all complete rubbish! Anyone that attempts to tell truth referring to David Icke or David Wilcock, or any other anti-reptile person should seriously consider mental help. Paranoia such as this is not good for you. Practice makes it perfect.  http://www.rt.com/ne ws/israel-ufo-missil e-337/
We do not hear screetching sounds of "Attack Iran" from Israel lately. Topol does not miss.

+1

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No trust for RT anymore (unregistered) 08.06.2012 19:15

RT no longer holds the position of a valid and trustworthy 'news' site for me anymore, due to the completely biased reporting of many topics and events. The corporation is very prone to massive exxageration and huge sensationalism. The sad thing is, many of you (presumably young, uneducated and unknowledgable) readers believe it in preference to western media, including the legally balanced BBC. One recent example is the RT coverage of the Royal Diamond Jubilee, where the event was denounced as 'pompous' and only one side of view was given as evidence of non-support- that of a laughably small minority, Republic. No balance was apparent, and still many of you idiots reading this site took the view of Republic (and stupidly biased RT) to be widespread amongst Britons, when in actual fact it was not. Anyway, my point is, stories like these that are clearly heavily exaggerated and sensationalised have proven that RT is not a credible site for newsgatherers- more like a turn-to for the stupid, the angry and conspiracy-nutters, who are prone to Russian propoganda.                                                                                                                          P.s. Please stop going on about this stupid Zionist conspiracy, or the reptilian one etc. They're all complete rubbish! Anyone that attempts to tell truth referring to David Icke or David Wilcock, or any other anti-reptile person should seriously consider mental help. Paranoia such as this is not good for you.

0

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Rodebian 07.06.2012 17:48

I noticed some of my posts went off topic a bit. So let me add that I think NATO would be good IF it was ONLY for defensive purposes only. However that is not the case and that needs to change as well.

I don't see at all how bombing weddings and funerals has anything to do with 9/11.

This is the problem. On one hand I have to question who the real people where behind 9/11. Yes, I know who the puppets where and who was directly responsible, which is why we are in Afghanistan. But who there puppet masters. Bin Laden and Bush's family where pretty close. 9/11 happened on bush's watch.

On the other hand the people in my country go insane when we are attacked. Sadly we have given up many freedoms for safety and in doing so probably deserve neither.

It has been over ten years now. Killing civilians doesn't make things right at all. Military fighting military, fine, (though you all know by now how I feel about war and killing.) At least military against military makes more sense, well war doesn't make sense but I think everyone gets my point. Killing children, bombing weddings. That sounds more like the old mafia in the early 20th century in my country. I don't see at all the difference between what happened on 9/11 and that.

Fightin g fire with fire only creates a larger fire that will eventually burn out of control when the winds shift.

And the ones making out the most? Yep, as always the corporations and bankers. Again I have to wonder who is really pulling the strings.

We are all fools denying the obvious. It is right in front of us yet we choose to still fight and blame each other. Maybe we all deserve what we get.

+7

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