Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan
At Least 7 Afghan Children Killed in U.S. Airstrike
By BARRY BEARAK and GRAHAM BOWLEY, New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 18 — The American-led coalition forces in Afghanistan killed seven children during an air strike on what they say was an Al Qaeda base in the east of the country, the military said in a statement today.
The air strike, which took place on Sunday night, hit a compound in the Zarghun Shah district of the border province of Paktika, which contained a mosque and a religious school and which the coalition forces said intelligence had shown was being used as a safe house for Al Qaeda fighters.
Several militants were killed in the strike, and two militants were also detained, the coalition said. The children’s deaths come amid mounting civilian casualties in Afghanistan and rising public anger in the country over them.
In April, aerial bombing of a valley in western Afghanistan by the American military killed at least 42 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 50 more, an Afghan government investigation found last month. Legislators and some tribal elders have warned that the attacks in which civilians are put at risk are playing into the hands of the insurgents.
An army spokesman said that the mosque and the civilians had been used as human shields.
(The rest is here.)
By BARRY BEARAK and GRAHAM BOWLEY, New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 18 — The American-led coalition forces in Afghanistan killed seven children during an air strike on what they say was an Al Qaeda base in the east of the country, the military said in a statement today.
The air strike, which took place on Sunday night, hit a compound in the Zarghun Shah district of the border province of Paktika, which contained a mosque and a religious school and which the coalition forces said intelligence had shown was being used as a safe house for Al Qaeda fighters.
Several militants were killed in the strike, and two militants were also detained, the coalition said. The children’s deaths come amid mounting civilian casualties in Afghanistan and rising public anger in the country over them.
In April, aerial bombing of a valley in western Afghanistan by the American military killed at least 42 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 50 more, an Afghan government investigation found last month. Legislators and some tribal elders have warned that the attacks in which civilians are put at risk are playing into the hands of the insurgents.
An army spokesman said that the mosque and the civilians had been used as human shields.
(The rest is here.)
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