Britain probes shooting after Afghan suicide bomb

The military is investigating the shooting of civilians by British troops as they sped away from a suicide bomb attack in southern Afghanistan that injured three soldiers and killed three Afghans.

Witnesses to the December 3 incident in which a suicide bomber in a minibus rammed the military convoy in Kandahar, said residents fled in fear of their lives.

It is one of seven incidents in the last month in which Nato forces shot Afghan citizens. Seven people have been killed and 11 injured, eroding public support for the battle against a resurgent Taliban.

Nato said the soldiers had acted in self-defence in all the shootings.

After the Kandahar bombing, Said Ahmed, a 30-year-old bakery worker, said he ran into his shop when he saw British soldiers coming down the street shouting and firing their guns.

“I saw one motorbike driver get shot, and he fell down on to the ground,” Ahmed said. “It was a very scary moment.”

Umer Jan, 38, who owns an electronics shop, described how people ran from the convoy.

“I saw the Nato forces firing their guns on civilians. I saw people leaving their vehicles and bicycles and running away,” he said.

“From both sides, civilians are the victims – from the bombing, and after the bombing. I don’t know what we should do.”

An Associated Press reporter driving towards the site of the suicide attack who encountered the British convoy said one soldier fired in the air, another fired at the ground and another wounded a motorcyclist.

A British spokesman said the soldiers fired in self-defence, and the incident was under investigation.

Foreign troop convoys are coming under increasing attack. Taliban militants exploded more than 100 suicide bombs in the country this year, a more than fivefold increase from 2005, often targeting Nato forces in armoured personnel carriers and Jeeps.

Most victims of Nato shootings are Afghan civilians – motorists who have failed to stop when ordered to do so, or people caught in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.

The shootings have deepened resentment among Afghans as Nato struggles to contain an uprising that has found new strength five years after the ousting of the Taliban regime.

Nato has issued radio and newspaper advertisements warning Afghans to stay away from troop convoys. Last month, the alliance announced that more warning signs would be put on military vehicles, but far less than half the military vehicles seen on the street by AP reporters in Kabul and Kandahar carry any type of warning.

Brig Richard Nugee, chief spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force, said soldiers had an “inherent right” to self-defence.

American soldiers said they had become more aware of the risks while travelling through Afghanistan as the number of attacks increased this year.

“The numbers speak for themselves. The threat’s out there,” Lt Jason DeSousa, 32, of Brookfield, Connecticut, said, during a patrol in central Kapisa province.