KABUL: The Afghan Interior Ministry yesterday said that US coalition bombs have killed 76 civilians in western Afghanistan. But the coalition said 30 militants were killed. US military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green said a thorough assessment was done after the battle in the Shindand district of Herat province Thursday, and that the coalition killed 30 militants, including a high-ranking Taleban leader.
The Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi, confirmed the clash but said five of the 30 dead were civilians.
However, the Interior Ministry said the fighting killed 76 civilians, including 19 women and 50 children under the age of 15. The ministry called the bombing a “mistake.”
The airstrike was called in after Afghan and coalition soldiers were ambushed by insurgents while on a patrol targeting a known Taleban commander in the western province of Herat, the US military said in a statement.
“Insurgents engaged the soldiers from multiple points within the compound using small-arms and RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) fire,” it said. “The joint forces responded with small-arms fire and an airstrike killing 30 militants.” Saeed Sharif, an elder and member of a local council where the strike took place, said many civilians were killed.
“Last night, around 2 a.m. some people were attending a Holy Qur’an recitation in Shindand district when Americans started bombing. Tens of civilians were killed,” said Sharif. The issue of civilian casualties is an emotive one in Afghanistan, feeding a common perception that international forces do not take enough care when launching airstrikes, and undermining support for their presence in the country.
The US military has denied any civilian casualties in the Herat strike. A senior police commander in western Afghanistan confirmed the incident but could not say how many civilians were killed.
“More than 30 people have been killed. I cannot say how many of them are civilians,” Gen. Ikramuddin Yawar said.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Kabul said US special forces and Afghan troops were carrying out an operation targeting a commander by the name of Mulla Sidiq who was planning to attack a US base in Herat. “Twenty-five Taleban were killed, including Sidiq and one other commander,” said spokesman Gen. Zaher Azimi. “Unfortunately, five civilians were killed in the bombing,” he said.
