http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/world/Viewdet.asp?ID=8767&cat=a
Four civilians killed, 1 hurt in Nato's Afghanistan strike; Karzai cries during speech, says Afghan children are dying KABUL (Agencies): At least four Afghan civilians were killed and one was wounded in a Nato-led airstrike against Taleban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, a police commander said Sunday. The civilians were killed on Saturday in an airstrike that was part of a "mid-scale" operation launched this week against militants in Laghman province just east of Kabul, local police chief, Abdul Karim Omeryar said. "Yes, a house was bombed by Nato planes. I know four people were killed and one was injured --- they were civilians," the police chief told AFP. He said intelligence reports indicated Taleban fighters were hiding in the house targeted by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) warplanes in the province's Alishing district. "But only civilians were in that house. The casualties were also civilians," he said. The interior ministry in Kabul confirmed the operation, codenamed "Western Hammer" but said it was investigating the civilian deaths. ISAF also confirmed the raid. "There was an engagement with a small group of insurgents, (Saturday) in Daulat Shah district. There was close air support. No report on civilian casualties," ISAF spokesman Major Dominic Whyte told AFP. The provincial governor for Laghman, Mohammad Gulab Mangal, has appointed a committee to investigate civilian casualties, an official at his office told AFP. "We've the police reports that civilians were killed in the Nato airstrike. The governor has appointed a committee to establish the fact," he said. Scores of civilians have been killed during operations by foreign troops against Taleban. In October, ISAF admitted 12 civilians were killed in one of its airstrikes against Taleban insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar. Other sources put the civilian toll at between 60 to 85. A government-appointed investigation committee established by President Hamid Karzai is yet to reveal the results of their search. Over 1,000 civilians are also among some 3,700 people killed in the overall violence across Afghanistan this year, the bloodiest since the 2001 toppling of the Taleban by a US-led invasion, according to an official report. A roadside bomb exploded next to an Afghan army vehicle, killing all six soldiers on board, while a separate bomb and gunfire attack left two Nato soldiers wounded, officials said Sunday. Insurgents ambushed the Nato troops in southern Zabul province, wounding two soldiers and damaging four vehicles with a roadside bomb and gunfire, said Captain Andre Salloum, a spokesman for Nato's troops in the south. Meanwhile, with his lips quivering and voice breaking, a tearful President Hamid Karzai on Sunday lamented that Afghan children are being killed by Nato and US bombs and by terrorists from Pakistan --- a portrait of helplessness in the face of spiraling chaos. In a heartfelt speech that brought audience members to tears, Karzai said the cruelty imposed on his people "is too much" and that Afghanistan cannot stop "the coalition from killing our children." "We can't prevent the terrorists from coming from Pakistan, and we can't prevent the coalition from bombing the terrorists, and our children are dying because of this," he said. The president, who turned tearful after relating stories of children maimed by bombings, took long pauses between sentences and at one point covered both eyes with a white handkerchief. A single tear rolled down his right cheek and bounced off his suit lapel. "Cruelty at the highest level," he said, his lower lip quivering. "The cruelty is too much." The taped speech was shown later on state TV, though that broadcast and other news shows did not show Karzai crying. Karzai's spokesman, Khaleeq Ahmed, said the president was saddened over the deaths of a 2-year-old child and two Afghan teachers on Saturday --- "and it really got to him." Ahmed said Karzai was not trying to send any larger message to Nato or the United States about their presence here. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
