By Carlotta Gall
New York Times
10 April 2003
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 9 — An American warplane mistakenly bombed a house in eastern Afghanistan today, killing 11 civilians and wounding one, a United States military spokesman said.
The spokesman, Douglas Lefforge, described the bombing as a "tragic incident" at a briefing at the American military headquarters at Bagram air base north of Kabul. He said a 1,000 pound laser-guided bomb that was aimed at escaping rebels hit the house instead, while those inside were sleeping. Seven of the dead were women.
The bombing occurred near the American Special Forces base at Shkin in eastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border. The spokesman said 10 to 20 rebels attacked a checkpoint near the base shortly before midnight. Four Afghan government soldiers at the checkpoint were wounded in the rebel attack.
A rapid-reaction unit set out to pursue the rebels as they fled in two groups toward the Pakistani border. United States Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier jets were called in, firing their cannons at one group and aiming a 1,000-pound bomb at the other.
"That bomb missed its intended target and landed on the house," the spokesman said. "The circumstances of the bombing are being investigated."
"Coalition forces never intentionally target civilian locations," he added.
There were no casualties among the Special Forces, and it was not known whether the rebels suffered any, he said. The wounded Afghan soldiers and the wounded survivor from the house were evacuated and were in stable condition. At a news briefing at the Pentagon today, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed the military's "sincere condolences" to the families of those killed. "We sincerely regret the incident," he said.
Muhammad Ali Jalali, the governor of eastern Paktika Province where Shkin is, condemned the killings, The Associated Press reported.
"They were neither Al Qaeda nor Taliban," said Mr. Jalali, who said he discussed the incident with American officials. "They were only innocent civilians."
United States forces have been aggressive in chasing down rebels who have increased attacks on American and Afghan positions in the three weeks since the war in Iraq began.
American forces have frequently called in air power against even small rebel groups in the mountains, sending a message to militants that the military will not lose focus in Afghanistan even while it is fighting in Iraq.
On Tuesday some 500 American and Afghan troops launched a large airborne assault in the southern province of Helmand, in search of the men who ambushed a Special Forces unit two weeks ago, killing two American servicemen and critically wounding a third.
Dad Muhammad Khan, the intelligence chief in Helmand, said in a telephone interview that the operation had resulted in the arrest of the police chief of Sangin district and three of his officers, as well as a fourth man.
Suspicion had fallen on the district police chief because the Special Forces unit had spent the day with him in Sangin discussing reconstruction projects for the area. It was during their return to their base in Gereshk that they were ambushed.
But Mr. Khan said he doubted the police chief was behind the ambush. "In my opinion, that's not true," he said. "I am 100 percent sure he is not a Taliban member, they have made a mistake."
Mr. Khan said his own investigation pointed to local men loyal to the former Taliban corps commander of Kandahar, Maulvi Akhtar Muhammad Usmani, who Mr. Khan said was living in the border town of Quetta in Pakistan.
"I know the people who attacked them and I told the Americans about them," Mr. Khan said. "They are Taliban and are with Maulvi Akhtar Muhammad Usmani."
Maulvi Usmani, who was one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban and very close to the Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had recently visited Sangin district and dispensed satellite telephones and money to supporters, he said.
Attacks by suspected Taliban have continued since the weekend. Gunmen attacked an Afghan police checkpoint in Zabul Province on Sunday, wounding three policemen.
International peacekeepers in Kabul stepped up security after finding that five fuel tankers destined for the international security force had been rigged with explosives.
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Citation: Carlotta Gall, "American Air Attack Mistakenly Kills 11 Afghans," New York Times, 10 April 2003.
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/international/asia/10AFGH.html?pagewanted=print&position=top
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