US denies bombing Afghan village
The US military denied that American warplanes bombed a village in eastern Afghanistan, killing civilians, after militants attacked Afghan and US military camps.
Afghan officials said five unarmed civilians were killed when US bombs landed in Weradesh.
But the American military said the village wasn’t hit and it had no reports of civilian casualties. It was not immediately possible to check the conflicting statements.
Kunar Governor Sayed Fazel Akbar said the incident began late Monday when assailants fired at Afghan and US military camps near Mano Gai, 170 105 miles east of the capital, Kabul.
“Then the American planes came and bombarded Weradesh village,” where the firing had originated, Akbar said yesterday. “Several houses were destroyed.”
Akbar said five civilians were killed in the American bombardment – two men, two children and a woman – but blamed the militants for the bloodshed.
“If the enemy comes into the villages and opens fire on the government and coalition, we are obliged to respond,” he said.
The Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees, or DACAAR, which had a team working in Weradesh, said several bombs were dropped and that its staff believed eight villagers were killed.
The group’s 14 staff members fled their camp just before it was hit by one bomb, said Gorm Pedersen, DACAAR’s director in Kabul. One worker was slightly injured and much of the group’s equipment was damaged.
US soldiers visited the village early yesterday and told DACAAR staff to draw up an assessment of the damage, Pedersen said.
American spokesman Sgt Maj Keith Butler said warplanes had fired various ordnance on targets, including one laser-guided bomb that hit a vehicle used by militants.
He said the military had no information about the presence of the aid group in the area.
The military insisted no civilians had been hit by American forces, whereas insurgents “fired indiscriminately at villagers” during the four-hour battle.
“All the coalition fire was precision fire,” Butler said.
Akbar, the provincial governor, said about 12 militants were killed.
Civilians have repeatedly fallen victim to violence in Afghanistan that has surged ahead of a landmark presidential election October 9.
