Civilian casualties Accusations against NATO
An accusation is being raised against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) insisting a military operation Wednesday lead to civilian casualties in the southern region of Afghanistan, NATO said Thursday.
Rebels was said to attack an Afghan National Army convoy in the vicinity of Wazir village in the Zharay district of the Kandahar province on Highway 1 Wednesday morning shortly before noon, hurting one soldier.
As answer, a coalition aircraft with armed rebels once they were positively identified and caught using their weapons. After the strike, two insurgents were spotted rescuing the injured fighters and taking them into the back of a truck and then driving away from the area.
During Wednesday afternoon, an accusation of civilian casualties was made, giving the time and location that matched with the engagement. ISAF quickly started reviewing the incident, and it has since been discovered that there were civilians in the area.
Reportedly, the insurgents hijacked the vehicle, which was used to transport their fighters, from a local resident following the engagement with combined forces.
"It is likely that the insurgents used the cover of nearby civilians in an attempt to hide from coalition forces," said U.S. Air Force Col. James Dawkins, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. "Because preventing civilian casualties and protecting the Afghan people are so important to us, we are deeply saddened over this latest event. We offer our sincere condolences to the families of the victims."
The casualties and injuries are still being investigated.
No related posts.
