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Karzai orders investigation into US airstrike

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into a US-led coalition airstrike that local officials say killed 15 civilians, but the US military says killed only armed Taliban militants.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 11:02 July 6, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Karzai has ordered the Defence Ministry to investigate the incident.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into a US-led coalition airstrike that local officials say killed 15 civilians, but the US military says killed only armed Taliban militants.

Coalition ground troops called in air support from attack helicopters after militants attacked an outpost in the northeastern province of Nuristan on Friday, the US military said in a statement on Saturday.

It said, "The helicopter crews coordinated with ground forces to positively identify the militants' vehicles. The attack helicopters then destroyed the two vehicles, killing more than a dozen militants."

But the governor of Nuristan said 15 civilians were killed and seven wounded in the attack in the Waigal district of Nuristan and none of the victims were militants.

Karzai ordered the Defence and Interior Ministries and a body that oversees local government to investigate, a statement from the presidential palace said on Sunday.

"President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly emphasised the (need for) coordination of military operations and has been deeply saddened since learning about this incident," the statement said.

Nearly 700 Afghan civilians were killed in the first six months of this year, 255 of them by Afghan government and international troops, the rest by Taliban militants.

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