KABUL/STOCKHOLM, 27 November 2005 — Two US soldiers have been reprimand for burning the bodies of two Taleban fighters in Afghanistan, the top US commander in Afghanistan said yesterday.
Gen. Jason Kamiya, the commander of the US ground forces in Afghanistan said they were only “reprimanded” but not sanctioned, defending his soldiers as not violating any laws governing the conduct of war.
“My investigation reveals that the US coalition forces did not violate the law of war,” he said, adding the burning of the Taleban corpses was for “hygiene purpose” by soldiers unaware of Afghan culture.
“They only disposed enemy remains through burning for hygiene purpose. War cremation is allowable for hygiene reasons,” he said.
However, the general admitted the practice was against Afghan culture which his soldiers were not aware of.
“It is not acceptable practice according to Afghan culture and tradition,” he said. “There was however, evidence of poor judgment,” he added.
Bomb Attack Kills Swedish Soldier
Sweden’s king and prime minister expressed sorrow yesterday after the country’s first peacekeeper was killed in Afghanistan, but the government said it still planned to boost its force in the country.
The soldier, serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), died after a bomb attack on Friday.
He was one of four wounded when a remote-controlled bomb hit a convoy of five vehicles returning from a sports event on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Goran Persson expressed sorrow but said Sweden and other countries had vowed to boost democracy in Afghanistan, remove “breeding grounds for international terrorism” and end opium production.
Sweden wants to increase its force from about 100 to between 185 and 375. King Carl XVI Gustaf said the thoughts of the royal family went out to the soldier’s family.
One of the other wounded Swedes remained in a serious condition, the army said.
