Suicide bombings in the south and east killed a British soldier, two children and a policeman Thursday, as President Hamid Karzai called on NATO forces to use caution during military operations a day after 20 civilians died. Two British soldiers were wounded, one of whom later died, said Britain‘s Ministry of Defense. The explosion also killed a boy and a girl, both under the age of 8, and wounded seven civilians, said Ghulam Muhiddin, spokesman for the governor of Helmand province.
Afghanistan this year has faced the deadliest spate of violence since the ouster of the Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces five years ago. Militants increasingly have resorted to suicide and roadside bombs, particularly in the south and east of the country near Pakistan. He noted that nine civilians were killed and 11 wounded during a battle Wednesday in the town of Ashogho in Kandahar province. He also said 11 civilians were killed during a fight in Tajikan village in Helmand province that day.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said additional NATO forces are needed in Afghanistan to supplement the 31,000 alliance forces currently in the country, and that the NATO mission will succeed only if it can help the Afghan government improve ordinary people‘s lives.
Residents in the village of Ashogho said NATO helicopters fired on three mud homes where villagers were sleeping. NATO said the operation, targeting militants suspected in roadside bombings, was believed to have caused several civilian casualties, which it regretted. Karzai‘s statement said 11 civilians were killed, but Abdul Rehman, a resident, said 13 villagers, including 10 women and children, died in rocket fire from an aircraft. "Initial bomb damage from an observer on the ground confirmed a direct hit on the compound," the statement said. NATO said it will "fully investigate" the claim that civilians were killed in the strike.
The international troops accuse insurgents of blending in with local populations while attacking foreign and Afghan soldiers. Many other civilians have been killed in Taliban attacks, including scores in recent suicide bombings.