5 Afghan children killed in raids

1. September 2008, 14:08
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer

Foreign and Afghan forces accidentally killed five children in two separate operations Monday, further undermining President Hamid Karzai after he demanded a halt to attacks in civilian areas.

Afghan officials have accused forces from the U.S. and other countries of killing dozens of civilians in recent weeks. The deaths have inflamed tensions across the country and weakened public support for both Karzai's government and a continued foreign troop presence in Afghanistan.

NATO said it accidentally killed three children in an artillery strike in the east on Monday after Taliban fighters allegedly attacked its troops in the area. One artillery round slammed into a house in the Gayan district of Paktika province.

In a separate raid, police officer Qubaidullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name, said U.S. troops backed by Afghan intelligence agents killed a man and his two children near the capital, Kabul.

Angry men gathered at the victims' house in the Utkheil area east of Kabul where the three bodies were displayed inside a mud-walled compound, said relative Yahya Khan.

But Karzai called on American and NATO commanders last month to stop their airstrikes in civilian areas of Afghanistan, and instead go after "terror" centers in neighboring Pakistan.

Separately, the military alliance said its forces had helped more than 20 wounded civilians who approached two of its bases in Helmand province.

NATO said the civilians were wounded in two separate attacks.

The issue is a particularly sensitive topic in Afghanistan following the Aug. 22 bombing of the village of Azizabad in Herat province by the U.S.-led coalition. An Afghan government commission said 90 civilians were killed, a finding backed by a preliminary U.N. report.

Afghans protest in Kabul over civilian deaths

1. September 2008, 02:07
Afghan News Network, Reuters -

Hundreds of protesters blocked a road in Kabul on Monday accusing U.S.-led troops of killing three members of a family, including two children, in a raid in the city, residents and witnesses said.

NATO and U.S. military officials could not be reached for comment on the allegation, the latest in a string of incidents that have angered Afghans and caused a split between the Afghan government and foreign troops.

Residents said U.S.-led troops carried out a pre-dawn raid in Hud Kheil area in the eastern quarter of Kabul, killing Noorullah and two of his sons, one of whom was eight months old.

"It was past one o'clock when the troops came and surrounded our houses," said Sulaiman, a resident.

"They threw hand grenades on one house and killed three family members," he said. Noorullah's wife was wounded, he said.

Local television showed footage of bodies and a damaged house.

"Are these two children al Qaeda?" an angry resident asked as the bodies were taken for burial. "We don't expect anything from the government because we don't have a government," Sulaiman said.

Several U.S. and NATO military bases are located in the area. Three people were taken away by the troops, residents said.

Angry demonstrators burnt tires on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway which links Afghanistan with Pakistan.

President Hamid Karzai last week ordered a review of foreign troops in Afghanistan after his administration said 96 civilians were killed in an air raid by the U.S.-led coalition in western Herat. The U.S. military said it had targeted militants and that an investigation was being carried out.

More than 500 civilians have been killed during operations by foreign and Afghan forces against alleged Afghani fighters so far this year, according to the Afghan government and some aid groups.