|
NATO Airstrike Kills Afghan Soldiers, Raid Kills Guard
|
rwro-@yahoo.com
|
Nov 07, 2009 06:42 PST
|
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGv4cEqc-wRw_6Mt57psjGEs9lLgD9BQNRH80
Associated Press
November 7, 2009
Ministry: NATO airstrike kills Afghan soldiers
By ELENA BECATOROS
KABUL: Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said Saturday that a NATO airstrike in the western province of Badghis the previous day mistakenly hit a joint base housing coalition troops and Afghan security forces, killing four Afghan soldiers and three policemen.
NATO said it and Afghan authorities were investigating whether a NATO airstrike during an operation Friday to rescue two missing American paratroopers had caused casualties. It said it could not confirm whether the base had been hit.
The alliance said reports indicated a total of seven Afghan security forces personnel and one Afghan civilian interpreter had been killed. It said five U.S. and 15 Afghan soldiers, two policemen and an Afghan civilian interpreter had been wounded in several hours of fighting against insurgents during the search for the missing paratroopers.
....
Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said an Afghan army commando unit, district police members and foreign forces were in the base in the Bala Marghab district at the time of the airstrike Friday afternoon. Roauf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the western regional police commander, said the airstrike also wounded 15 Afghan soldiers and one policeman.
The Defense Ministry said the Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed "during an air attack by NATO forces in Badghis province."
Separately, the deputy governor of the southern province of Zabul, Ali Khail, said NATO forces raided an Afghan Red Crescent office in the city of Qalat early Saturday, killing a security guard and arresting three local Red Crescent employees.
....
Red Crescent spokesman Walid Akbar confirmed that international forces had raided the office, but said he had not received any reports of deaths.
Akbar said his organization was negotiating with provincial authorities for the release of the three arrested men, whom he identified as a driver, a communications officer and a guest.
"We are a neutral organization. We help both parties. We help the victims of the war," he said.
....
Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt and Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwro-@yahoo.com
or
stopnato--@yahoogroups.com
Daily digest option available.
==============================
|
|
 |
|
