JALALABAD, Afghanistan, 5 March 2007 — US Marine Special Forces fleeing a militant ambush involving a suicide car bomb and gunmen opened fire on civilians in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, wounded Afghans said. Up to 16 people were killed and 34 wounded in the violence.
More than a half dozen Afghans recuperating from bullet wounds told The Associated Press that the US forces fired on cars and pedestrians along at least a 5-km stretch of one of eastern Afghanistan’s busiest highways.
“They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway,” said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside by a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. “They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot.” After the suicide attack by an explosives-filled minivan, the Americans treated every car and person along the highway as a potential attacker, though none of the people showed hostile intent, said Mohammad Khan Katawazi, the district chief of Shinwar.
Maj. William Mitchell, a US military spokesman, said militants launched a “complex” attack, shooting gunfire at the coalition forces from three different points after the suicide bomb attack. Forces fleeing the area fired in self-defense, a military statement said.
“We certainly believe it’s possible that the incoming fire from the ambush was wholly or partly responsible for the civilian casualties,” he said.
The gunfire from Americans sparked angry demonstrations in the region — just 50 km west of the Pakistan border. Hundreds of Afghans blocked the road and threw rocks at police, with some demonstrators shouting “Death to America! Death to Karzai,” a reference to President Hamid Karzai.
At the Jalalabad hospital, several victims said an American convoy approached them on the highway and opened fire. As the convoy neared, many cars pulled over to the side of the road, but were still hit by gunfire.
“When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle,” said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. “It was a convoy of three American Humvees. All three Humvees were firing around.”
Ahmed Najib, 23, lay in the next bed, hit by a bullet in his right shoulder.
“One American was in the first vehicle, shouting to stop on the side of the road, and we stopped. The first vehicle did not fire on us, but the second opened fire on our car,” Najib said, adding that his 2-year-old brother was grazed by a bullet on his cheek.
