KABUL, 11 December 2003 — The bodies of six children and two adults have been uncovered from the rubble of a compound flattened in an attack by American forces in Afghanistan, the US military admitted yesterday.
It was the second time in a week that US forces have admitted child deaths in Afghan operations after nine children were killed in a bungled airstrike on Saturday.
The latest admission, made by US military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, refers to an incident that happened last Friday after an air and ground attack on a compound used by a rebel commander to store munitions near Gardez in Paktia province.
“After we went in there, we discovered the next day, when we were trying to clear it, the bodies of two adults and six children under a collapsed wall,” he said. “We don’t know what caused the wall to collapse, because although we fired on the compound, there were secondary and tertiary explosions.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad said the deaths showed the need to reassess how such missions were carried out. “The first news this week was bad enough, the second is tragic,” he said. “It shows the need for better coordination and that we need to look at our intelligence-gathering process,” he said.
UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva expressed “regret and concern” and called for investigation results to be made public.
“In addition to contributing to a sense of fear and security these kinds of incidents make it easier for those who wish to spoil the peace process to gain support,” he said.
On Monday, Hilferty admitted the military was concerned that Saturday’s attack could alienate Afghans in the troubled south.
In both incidents, the military did not reveal the children’s deaths until it was asked specific questions by journalists.
Meanwhile, Afghan forces have arrested two important Taleban commanders after a gunbattle in the southern border district of Spin Boldak.
