Afghan air raid kills 12 civilians, 20 Taliban

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Afghan air raid kills 12 civilians, 20 Taliban
Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:47AM EDT

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S.-led air strike
killed 12 members of an Afghan family and 20 Taliban fighters
in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, the provincial
police chief said on Friday.

Hussien Andiwal said the raid took place on Thursday night
as part of an operation against Taliban fighters by U.S.-led
forces and Afghan troops.

A spokesman for the U.S. military said he had no immediate
comment on the incident but would check.

Andiwal said the air strike happened in Girishk district of
Helmand, a long-time bastion for the Taliban and the leading
drug producing province of Afghanistan, the world's major
heroin supplier.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP16911120070622

---

Source: Associated Press

Police: 25 Afghan Civilians Killed

Friday June 22, 2007 10:16 AM

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Suspected Taliban militants attacked
police posts in southern Afghanistan, sparking clashes and NATO
airstrikes that left 25 civilians dead, a senior police officer said
Friday.

The militants attacked police and used civilian houses for cover
in Gereshk district of Helmand province late Thursday, said
Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, provincial police chief.

NATO responded by calling in airstrikes, which killed 20 suspected
militants, but also 25 civilians, including nine women, three babies
and the mullah of a local mosque, he said.

NATO said the aircraft struck after insurgents attacked troops
from its International Security Assistance Force nine miles
northeast of Gereshk town.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6728181,00.html

[Eugene]

1. NATO boss says Afghan deaths unfortunate

Source: Reuters

NATO boss says Afghan deaths unfortunate
22 Jun 2007 15:25:59 GMT
Source: Reuters

OTTAWA, June 22 (Reuters) - The deaths of 25 civilians
in a NATO air strike in Afghanistan was unfortunate and the
Alliance is examining its procedures, NATO's secretary-
general said on Friday.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also blamed Taliban fighters, saying
they used civilians as human shields.

Police officials said an air strike on Thursday night by
foreign-led forces killed 25 civilians, including 12 members
of a family, in southern Afghanistan. NATO said it carried
out the air strike after Alliance forces came under attack
by insurgents.

"This happens and it's always dramatic ... this happens,
unfortunately," de Hoop Scheffer told a televised news
conference in Quebec City.

"We continually have to look at our procedures and that is
what's happening. We continually have to look at rules of
engagement."

More than 230 civilians have been killed this year alone
during operations by foreign and Afghan forces, according
to an umbrella body for aid groups in Afghanistan.


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22198043.htm

[daleo]

2. NATO boss says "sorry about your luck"

"We hope you don't take it personally."