NATO admits killing 2 civilians in S. Afghanistan

KABUL, July 3, 2010 (Xinhua) --

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a press release on Saturday confirmed that troops during an operation killed two civilians including a woman in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.

"During the course of an operation conducted by an Afghan international force searching for a Taliban subcommander responsible for ambushes, suicide bombings and assassinations in Kandahar area, a joint force accidentally killed two civilians, including a woman, and wound another,"the press release said.

It also said that, during the raid in Amin Kalacheh area of Kandahar province the Taliban birthplace, a Taliban commander was detained an insurgent was killed and another wounded.

"Afghan and coalition forces realize innocent bystanders' lives are put at risk when insurgents deliberately conduct activities within their communities," it said, adding"the joint security force, along with local elders and government officials, are working together to review this unfortunate incident."

However, the press release did not mention the exact date of the incident.

"We take accidents such as this very seriously, and we remain fully committed to protecting the people of Afghanistan and take every precaution to prevent civilian casualties,"said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell ISAF Joint Command spokesperson in the press release.

The latest civilian casualties reported by NATO took place a day after Gen. David Petraeus arrived in Afghanistan to take command of U.S. and NATO forces in the country. The newly appointed commander who replaced General Stanley McChrystal last week has vowed to avoid or to bring to its minimum level the civilian casualties as his first priorities in Afghanistan.

Meantime, police chief of Kandahar province Sardar Mohammad Zazai said that NATO-led troops during operation in Daman district Friday night killed three civilians including a woman.

Editor: Yang Lina

US-led forces kill three Afghan civilians

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:46:57 GMT

US-led forces in Afghanistan have killed at least three civilians as their new commander General David Petraeus makes his debut in Kabul.

The civilians, including a woman, were killed in a NATO operation in the volatile southern province of Kandahar, a Press TV correspondent reported.

NATO has confirmed the attack. However, it claims that its soldiers only killed two civilians. The Western military alliance claims that its forces also accidentally injured another person.

The foreign troops also killed eight civilians inside their houses during an operation in Kandahar Province last week. NATO claimed the raid targeted militants.

The developments come as a big blow to the new commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

General Petraeus promised that his top priority will be to minimize Afghan civilian casualties only two days before the killings.

NATO says that it will launch a probe into the deadly attacks.

Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed in attacks carried out by foreign forces since the US-led invasion back in 2001.

According to official figures, more than 2,500 civilians were killed in NATO operations last year, undermining support for the presence of US-led forces in the country.

JR/MMN

'British special forces member' killed in Afghanistan

Fri Jul 2, 2010, 7:19 pm ET
LONDON (AFP) –

A British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan, the "Ministry of Defence" (which is truly the Ministry of War, Invasion, and Occupation) said on Friday, with reports saying he was a member of the special forces.

The ministry said he had died on Thursday and described him as a Royal Marine, with no further details released, but reports said he was a member of the Special Boat Service (SBS).

A Ministry spokesman said: "It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of a Royal Marine in Southern Afghanistan on Thursday 1, July 2010. Next of kin have been informed."

The death brings the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 310.

The then prime minister Gordon Brown revealed this year that 500 members of Britain's special forces were deployed in southern Afghanistan, although their activities are still meant to be an official secret.

Their activities are believed to include targeting Taliban leaders.

USAID compound attacked in Afghanistan; 4 killed

By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer –

Friday, July 2, 2010, 2:26 pm ET

KABUL, Afghanistan –

Taliban suicide attackers stormed a four-story house used by an American aid organization in north Afghanistan on Friday, killing four people before dying in a fierce, five-hour gunbattle with Afghan security forces.

The pre-dawn attack appeared part of a Taliban campaign against international development organizations at a time when the U.S. and its allies are trying to accelerate civilian efforts to turn back the Taliban.

It came on the same day that Gen. David Petraeus landed in the Afghan capital to take command of U.S. and international forces fighting the nearly 9-year-old war. Petraeus arrived from Brussels where he sought to reassure allies that the war against the Taliban was on track despite rising casualties and problems regaining control over key parts of the country.

Taliban fighters began their brazen attack in Kunduz at about 3:30 a.m. A suicide car bomber blew a hole in the wall around a building used by Development Alternatives Inc., a global consulting company based in the Washington, D.C., area on contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development, or

USAID. The company is working on governance and community development issues in the area.

At least five other attackers, all wearing explosive vests, then ran inside the building, according to Afghan police and army officials. The insurgents killed or wounded security guards and others before dying themselves in a gunbattle with Afghan security forces who raced to the scene.

"It was 3 o'clock in the morning, close to the morning prayer time, when a suicide bomber in a 4x4 vehicle exploded his vehicle," Gen. Abdul Razaq Yaqoubi, police chief in Kunduz province, said as Afghan national security forces were still battling to kill the last surviving attacker. "There is no way for him to escape."

Black smoke billowed from the windows of the house. The bodies of the victims were found laying amid broken glass, rubble and pools of blood. Stunned aid workers were led from the scene as NATO troops carried bodies wrapped in black plastic out on stretchers.

One British, one German and two Afghan nationals were killed, according to a statement issued by DAI in Bethesda, Md. They all worked for DAI's security subcontractor, Edinburgh International, DAI said. Several other people, including two members of the DAI staff, were among those injured.

Steven O'Connor, communications director for DAI, said three DAI employees — two Americans and one Serb — were inside the building at the time of the attack. It was unclear if they were among the wounded.

"The actions taken by the Edinburgh International security staff in defense of the compound and project staff were nothing short of heroic," said DAI President James Boomgard. "We are deeply grateful for their bravery, and for the work they do day in, day out, to make our development mission possible. Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased at this terrible hour."

He said the firm would be working with USAID, Edinburgh International and others to assess the security situation in Kunduz, a focal point of the (Taliban resistance) in the north.

Taliban spokesman Zabibullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in Kabul that six suicide bombers attacked a "training center" for Afghan security forces in Kunduz and killed 55 foreigners. The Taliban often exaggerate their claims.

Earlier this week, the Afghan driver of a U.N. vehicle was shot and killed in midday traffic in central Kabul, and (Taliban fighters) rocketed a base for South Korean construction workers in Parwan province, north of the capital, but caused no casualties.