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| Afghanistan |
| McChrystal Visits Kunduz Strike Scene |
| 2009-09-07 |
| [Quqnoos] The top NATO commander in Afghanistan has visited Kunduz province, where an alliance air strike has killed up to 90 people on Friday Gen Stanley McChrystal's visit comes a day after the air strike on two fuel tankers, which had been hijacked by the Taliban militants, leaving dozens of civilians among the dead. The top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan visited the strike scene to gain first hand information and assess the situation, a provincial official said. "As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), nothing is more important than the safety and protection of the Afghan people," McChrystal addressed Afghan people through a radio message hours before making the trip to Kunduz. "I take this possible loss of life or injury to innocent Afghans very seriously." He further promised that NATO forces would conduct a detailed investigation with Afghan assistance and all civilians wounded in the blast would be well treated by the ISAF medical facilities. The deadliest air raid this year since the Farah bombing in May occurred in the wake of changes in the military strategy as Gen McChrystal promised to avoid harming non-combatants. The United Nations also expressed concern over the killing of civilians in Kunduz, saying the body would send an investigating team, the Deputy to UN special envoy Peter Galbraith said in a statement. An ISAF 10-member team has also been dispatched to the area, visiting a hospital in Kunduz city where some of the injured are being treated. The NATO attack occurred about 7km south-west of Kunduz city before dawn on Friday. German forces had reported that the two tankers were hijacked by the Taliban while they were being driven from Tajikistan to supply NATO forces in Kabul. Witnesses said one of the tankers had become stuck in a river and militants asked villagers to extract fuel to make it lighter when the tankers were bombed. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Not a good precedent by General McChrystal. Unless he concludes the Germans made the right decision, which I suspect he will. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-09-07 13:04 |
| #2 "As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), nothing is more important than the safety and protection of the Afghan people," No? I thought your job was to WIN THIS WAR. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-09-07 12:22 |
| #1 Not a good precedent by General McChrystal. I fully expect to see the Germans tell us to piss off soon and leave. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-09-07 10:07 |