Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 
NATO Forces Kill Five Women and Children, 27 Men in Afghanistan

April 6-7, 2010

Editor's Note:

The following two news stories represent the NATO side of the conflict, as the pro-Taliban website (http://alemarah.info/english/) is off line today. The site has been controlled by hackers, who placed photos of alleged Taliban fighters executing Afghanis, with Arabic words (Sowt Al-Haqeeqah) meaning "Voice of Truth." Apparently, the hackers do not know the difference between Arabic and Pashtu, or other Afghani languages.

The figure of 27 men killed by NATO forces is alleged of Taliban fighters. In many previous cases, many civilians were killed and were alleged as Taliban fighters.

NATO soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

Wed Apr 7,  2010, 11:54 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

A foreign soldier was killed during fighting with Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

"An ISAF service member died following an insurgent engagement in southern Afghanistan today," the military alliance said in a short statement, without giving further details.

The latest casualty brings the number of foreign soldiers killed to 146 so far this year, according to an AFP toll.

Home-made bombs are the most common cause of deaths among the ranks of the 126,000 NATO and US forces fighting a growing Taliban insurgency, particularly in southern Afghanistan.

Five civilians, 27 Taliban killed in Afghanistan - Summary

Earth Times, Tuesday, 06 Apr 2010 14:59:37 GMT

By : dpa

Kabul -

A series of firefights and a NATO airstrike in Afghanistan on Tuesday left five civilians, including two women and two children and 27 (alleged) Taliban fighters dead, officials said.

Afghan and NATO forces engaged a group of Taliban  fighters in Bala Murgab district of western province of Badghis on Tuesday morning, killing 27 Taliban fighters, including five commanders, Jalandar Shah Behnam, an army commander in the western region said.

The Afghan forces were dropped by parachutes in Joy-e-Khewaja area of the district, behind Taliban lines, he said, adding that operation lasted for several hours.

There were no deaths among the combined forces, he added.

Western Afghanistan is comparatively more peaceful than southern and eastern regions, where Taliban are most active.

Separately, four civilians and four suspected Taliban fighters were killed in a NATO airstrike on Monday in Nahr-e-Saraj district of the southern province of Helmand, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

(Taliban fighters) "were using the compound as a firing position when combined forces, unaware of the possible presence of civilians, directed air assets against it," it said.

"Later, once they were able to enter the compound, combined forces found four dead civilians - two women, an elderly man and a child - inside," the statement said.

A joint "incident assessment" by Afghan and ISAF forces was underway, it added.

In north-eastern province of Kapisa, four children were injured on Tuesday during a firefight between the Taliban and NATO troops, the ISAF said in a statement. A child succumbed to his injuries later in a hospital, it said.

The military were investigating to find out that who was responsible for targeting the children, it added.

The reports about the new killings came a day after the NATO admitted that its troops had killed five civilians, including three women, during a botched nighttime attack on February 12 in south-eastern Afghanistan.

ISAF had earlier said that the two men were armed insurgents and the women were already dead before the joint forces entered the house in Gardez city. But after the investigation the military said all the victims were civilians and killed by the NATO forces.

Afghan security forces had identified the men as civilians who were working with the government and two of the women were pregnant.

Civilian casualties at the hands of international forces have long been the touchiest issue in Afghanistan. Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai, have repeatedly said such deaths sapped public support for the central government and the presence of foreign troops in the country.

Mounting civilian casualties have also bolstered Taliban ranks against the foreign forces as the victims' male family members often join the insurgency to seek revenge, according to Afghan officials.

The civilian death toll has dropped in recent months after US General Stanley McChrystal, who took command of NATO and US troops in Afghanistan more than a year ago, issued guidelines restricting nighttime raids and airstrikes in populated areas. Copyright DPA

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