30 Afghanis Massacred in NATO Air Strikes, 4 Afghanis Killed in Kabul, Canadian Soldiers Killed in Taliban Attack

ccun.org, May 29, 2008, 11:58 am ET

Aljazeera TV reported today that Taliban fighters attacked a convoy of Canadian NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, killing and injuring a number of them. The TV station aired footage of three Hummer vehicles destroyed and left in the battle field. An eyewitness told Aljazeera tv that Canadian forces pulled two of the destroyed vehicles and left behind three more.

The witnesses also said that NATO planes then attacked Afghanis in the area killing many of them.

In the past, whenever NATO air strikes occurred, there would be initial claims that the victims were Taliban fighters, then evidence shows that many of them were civilians. Even the puppet Karzai objected in the past to these indiscriminate NATO air strikes, which massacred Afghani civilians.

*** 

3 killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan; dozens of Taliban said killed in separate clash

By AMIR SHAH Associated Press Writer

May 29, 2008, 6:32 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) --

A suicide car bomber hit a convoy of international soldiers in Kabul on Thursday, killing three Afghans caught in the blast, police said.

Meanwhile, a clash in the western province of Farah killed more than two dozen Taliban fighters, a police officer there said.

The attack in Kabul targeted two armored SUVs, causing minor damage to the vehicles. None of the soldiers inside the vehicles was wounded or killed, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. He did not immediately know the nationalities of the troops.

U.S. troops from a base in Kabul cordoned off the area shortly after the attack.

The blast killed three Afghans and wounded four, said Mohammad Aslam, a police officer at the scene. Small shops line the road, and pedestrians frequently walk alongside the busy route.

An Afghan father wailed and beat himself after the bombing, saying a child of his was killed in the blast. Children's shoes lay in the road after the bombing.

The attack took place on a road leading to several military bases that is frequently targeted by bombers.

Taliban fighters have increased their use of suicide attacks the last two years. They typically target Afghani and international police and soldiers, but Afghani civilians are often killed and wounded in the attacks.

A joint operation by Afghani and NATO forces in Farah, meanwhile, killed 30 Taliban fighters, said Nabi Popal, the deputy provincial police chief. One policeman and two Afghani soldiers also were killed.

Afghani soldiers surrounded the Taliban fighters in the Bala Baluk district of Farah, Popal said, before NATO forces called in airstrikes. He said intelligence reports indicated that 30 Taliban fighters had gathered in the area, but he did not say how he knew 30 had been killed and Popal's information could not immediately be verified.