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Afghanistan
Afghan civilians shot by foreign troops: probe
2009-12-31
[Al Arabiya Latest] An Afghan government investigation into the deaths of 10 civilians in the country's east found they were dragged from their homes and shot dead by foreign troops, the president's office said Wednesday.

The dead included eight school students aged between 13 and 17 years old, a statement from President Hamid Karzai's office said.

International forces based in Kunar province, where the alleged incident took place, told government investigators "they were unaware of the incident", the statement said.

" The president assured them that the government will seriously investigate the incident and deal with the culprits in accordance with the law "
Statement from the office of President Karzai
"A unit of international forces descended from a plane in the Narang district of Kunar province and took 10 people from three homes, eight of them school students in grades six, nine and 10, one of them a guest, the rest from the same family, and shot them dead," the statement said, quoting the head of the investigating team.

The investigation was headed by Asadaullah Wafa, an advisor to Karzai and a former governor of Kunar province.

The presidential statement said Wafa was shown documents by the head teacher of the school attended by the students, proving their status.

"Those people that were killed were innocent civilians," Wafa told reporters. The victims were eight boys, aged between 13 and 18, and two men in their 20s, he added.

Karzai had spoken with the father and uncles of the students, offering his condolences and promised a full investigation.

"The president assured them that the government will seriously investigate the incident and deal with the culprits in accordance with the law," the statement said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which has 113,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting a Taliban insurgency, has told AFP that it had no activities in the area at the time the alleged incident took place.

A senior Western military official said that U.S. Special Forces have been conducting operations in the area, along the border with Pakistan, and that they operate separately from ISAF.

Posted by:Fred

#2  This the same incident where the Afghan police general confirmed photos of 9 dead twenty-something men with guns and explosives.
Posted by: ed   2009-12-31 06:30  

#1  ENEMY PROPAGANDA ALERT

The m/o of the crime only fits one group of people.
Me thinks the kids were murdered by the Taliban/ Al Qaeda in retaliation for their parents cooperating with the NATO troops.
The crime scene was then set up (as usual) and the gullible government officials called in to "investigate".

Sounds more plausible, yes?
Posted by: Mike Hunt   2009-12-31 01:02  

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