Mon, Dec 08, 2003
US Was Looking For Taliban Commander
They were aiming for a Taliban
commander. Instead, an American warplane flying over Afghanistan
hit a village in the Afghan mountains, killing nine children.
American officials say the attack indeed killed former Taliban
commander Mullah Wazir. Locals in the village, however, say he
escaped. Still, the collateral damage threatened to inflame the
Afghan public. American Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he was
"deeply saddened" by what he termed the "tragic loss of life" in
the village of Hutala in southern Afghanistan.
It was the latest strike in which civilians were killed,
prompting the UN envoy to that war-torn country to say he's
"profoundly distressed." Lakhdar Brahimi said the airstrike,
"follows similar incidents (and) adds to a sense of insecurity and
fear in the country."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned American forces to "be very
careful not to repeat such tragedies."
"They were just playing ball, and then the shots came down,"
said one witness. The man, Hamidullah, said his eight-year-old son,
Habibullah, was among those killed.
"At the time we initiated the attack, we did not know there were
children nearby," said Army Major Christopher West. He said
American soldiers went to the scene of the attack, in Ghazni
Province, to verify the casualties. They found pools of blood where
the children had been hit and villagers deep in mourning.
"The people there are very afraid. They have no idea why the
Americans bombed their village," said Ghazni Provincial Governor
Jawaid Khan.
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