Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
US, Afghan villagers differ over 15 killed in raid
By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ,Associated Press Writers AP - 40 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. coalition said Saturday that an overnight raid killed 15 Taliban militants but village elders who quickly traveled to speak with government officials said the dead were all civilians.
A detailed U.S. statement said multiple teams of militants fired on the coalition forces during a raid in the eastern province of Laghman, including a woman the U.S. said was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade.
"We know the people who were killed were shooting at us," said Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. spokesman in Afghanistan. "The people who were killed today were running around, maneuvering against our forces, and we killed them."
But Hamididan Abdul Rahmzai, the head of the provincial council in Laghman, said village elders arrived at his office hours after the early morning operation to complain that the 15 killed were innocent civilians.
During a call from an Associated Press reporter, Rahmzai relayed questions to the village elders directly, who angrily shouted that they would swear on the Quran, the Muslim holy book, that all those killed were civilians. The elders claimed that women and children were among the dead.
The villagers told Rahmzai that they are shepherds and have no ties to militants.
Evaluating competing claims from the U.S. or NATO militaries and Afghan officials or villagers is extremely difficult. Journalists and human rights monitors usually cannot reach the site of a raid because the territory is too dangerous.
Afghan villagers have been known to exaggerate civilian death claims in order to receive more compensation from the U.S. military, and officials have said that insurgents sometimes force villagers to make false death claims.
But the U.S. military has also been known to not fully acknowledge when it killed civilians.
After a battle in August in the village of Azizabad, the U.S. military at first said no civilians were killed. A day later it said about five died, and eventually a more thorough U.S. investigation found 33 civilians were killed. The Afghan government and the U.N. said 90 civilians were killed.
Civilian deaths is a hugely sensitive topic between the Afghan government and the U.S. and NATO. President Hamid Karzai last week told parliament that the U.S. and NATO have not heeded his calls to stop airstrikes in civilian areas, and he again deplored civilian deaths caused by international militaries.
The Afghan government recently sent NATO headquarters a draft agreement that would give Afghanistan more control over future NATO deployments in the country and would prohibit NATO troops from conducting searches of Afghan homes.
(This version CORRECTS garbled extended headline)
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Rusty Serena on track as French tennis opne revolution gathers paceAFP - 10 minutes ago
Indian prime minister begins heart bypass surgeryAP - 30 minutes ago
US, Afghan villagers differ over 15 killed in raidAP - 40 minutes ago
Indian PM in heart surgeryAFP - 1 hour 28 minutes ago
N. Korea's Kim Jong Il meets with Chinese officialAP - 1 hour 39 minutes ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
World crisis deepens as downturn bites in Asia
Obama retakes oath of office
'Dogs don't wear condoms,' says Baywatch star Anderson
Obama steps up anti-recession offensive
US unemployment spikes, housing crisis deepens
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular