"Afghan police: At least 30 killed in suicide blast
KABUL, Afghanistan – Separately, the NATO coalition said it was investigating the accidental death of Afghan civilians in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border. NATO said it deeply regretted the accident Sunday night in Khogyani district.
Also see: NATO looks into claim of Afghan deaths
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar, said coalition forces fired at three insurgents planting a roadside mine near a NATO base. One weapon missed the target, hit a house and killed a couple and their four children, he said.
"My four grandsons, my daughter-in-law and my son were martyred here," Mehrab Khan, 55, said at their funeral Monday.
:-(
The incident came a day after Afghan officials alleged that 64 civilians died in coalition operations in neighboring Kunar province, a hotbed of the insurgency.
NATO said it had no evidence of civilian casualties, but is working with Afghan officials to investigate recent operations in Kunar.
"The evidence viewed to date has revealed no evidence of children present at all on the night of the Feb. 17 and the adults were assessed to be men," Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, a NATO spokesman, told reporters in Kabul. "They were armed and moving in tactical formations."
See what I mean?
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"Tensions rise over Afghan civilian deaths; Officials dispute reports of parents burning children" February 23, 2011|Patrick Quinn and Rahim Faiez, Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — An investigation into reports that international troops killed scores of civilians in northeast Afghanistan escalated into a feud yesterday between President Hamid Karzai and senior US military officials who cited a report that Afghan parents have been known to discipline children by burning their hands and feet.
The AmeriKan military is really scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses.
Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar described comments made by Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, director of communications for the US-led coalition, also known as International Security Assistance Force, as being “outrageous, insulting, and racist.’’ He demanded a clarification.
He's right.
The flap started during a discussion at the presidential palace about reports that NATO forces killed about 60 civilians during a four-day operation in Kunar Province — a charge that has been contested by the international coalition.
Media reports and television footage broadcast after the reports showed severely injured children and others with burns on their faces, hands, and feet — yet it was unclear if they were injured in military operations.
The Washington Post, quoting unidentified individuals who attended the palace meeting, reported yesterday that General David Petraeus, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, had suggested Afghans might have burned their own children to exaggerate reports of civilian casualties....
Oh, Puke-tray-us!
Although relatively unheard of, there have been some such cases reported in the past. A 2009 human rights report issued by the US State Department said....
Oh, well, if the State Department says so it must be true.
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Yeah, crap like that doesn't stick:
"Afghans say NATO attack killed 65 civilians" February 28, 2011|Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — Sixty-five civilians, including 40 children, were killed in a NATO assault on insurgents in eastern Afghanistan earlier this month, according to findings of an Afghan government investigation released yesterday.
Tribal leaders had alleged that dozens of civilians were killed in the operation in Kunar Province, which involved rocket and air strikes, but NATO has not confirmed any civilian deaths.
The incident inflamed tensions between the Afghan government and NATO forces, and both sides opened investigations.
Civilian deaths have been increasing in recent months as insurgents appear to become more indiscriminate in their targets, attacking banks, supermarkets, and sporting events.
Related:
"Now stop and think here for a moment. All revolutions depend on public support. Revolutionaries try to first win the people before they take on the government. So, no revolutionary goes out and murders civilians in cold blood. Did Washington and his men just mow down a marketplace of their fellow colonials for the heck of it? No, they did not. Washington and the Founding Fathers knew that their revolution to build a new country needed the support of those who would live in that country. This is true for every revolution in history. Therefore, these acts of terror being blamed on the insurgency must all be fakes, committed by intelligence agencies working for the governments to be blamed on the insurgents in order to destroy public support for the revolution." -- Wake the Flock Up
You know, that is REALLY a GOOD POINT!
At least three separate attacks yesterday, including one targeting spectators at an illegal dog fight, killed nine Afghan civilians and two NATO service members, officials said.
But allegations of civilian deaths from NATO forces, who pledge to protect the population, often cause much more anger....
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"Bodies of 4 Afghan policemen found" March 02, 2011|Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — For the second time in two weeks, NATO and Afghan officials are offering conflicting accounts of a coalition operation in Kunar Province, a hotbed of the insurgency in northeast Afghanistan. The coalition said it killed nine armed insurgents yesterday following an early morning rocket attack.
But General Khalilullah Ziayi, the police chief in Kunar Province, said coalition helicopters fired into the mountainous area, killing nine children gathering wood. He said police were investigating.
In a statement, NATO said: “The coalition aircraft positively identified nine armed insurgents in the area where the rockets had been fired and engaged them . . . hitting only the nine insurgent fighters. There were no reports of civilians in the area.’’
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"NATO chief apologizes for deaths of 9 civilians" March 03, 2011|Washington Post
KABUL, Afghanistan — A NATO air strike appears to have killed nine children as they collected firewood....
The alliance confirmed nine civilians had been killed but did not address the Afghan government’s assertion they were children. A NATO statement said a communications error led to helicopter and artillery attacks on the wrong target....
See what I mean about knee-jerks?
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"Karzai rejects US apology over deaths of Afghan boys; Warns NATO forces over mounting civilian casualties" March 07, 2011|Patrick Quinn, Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — Civilian deaths have jumped this year primarily because of increased attacks from insurgents, according to UN data. Insurgents recently have started carrying out indiscriminate attacks against soft targets such as banks, supermarkets, and sporting events.
Just because my newspaper says it doesn't make it true. Sorry.
Related:
"Also yesterday, NATO officials said that troops in Nimruz Province in southwestern Afghanistan recently intercepted a large shipment of rockets believed to have been supplied by the Iranian government."
This is the SHI'ITE POWERHOUSE IRAN helping the SUNNI EXTREMIST Taliban that consider Shi'ites worse heretics than non-believing Americans?
The same Sunnis and Shi'ites allegedly killing each other across the Muslim world (when they are not intermarrying)?
The SAME TALIBAN that IRAN ALMOST WENT to WAR WITH in the 1990s?
Sorry, NOT BUYING IT!
But allegations of civilian deaths from NATO forces — who pledge to protect the population — often cause much more anger....
Violence has been on the rise in eastern Afghanistan and earlier in the day a roadside bomb killed 12 civilians, including five children, in Paktika Province.
But the security situation is better -- or so we have been told here in AmeriKa.
A spokesman for the governor of the province, Mokhlis Afghan, said another five people were wounded when the bomb planted by insurgents exploded next to a truck carrying civilians.
NATO announced Saturday that a bombing in southern Afghanistan killed one of its service members on Friday. It did not provide the victim’s nationality or any other details.
And we never see another word about these guys.
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And anyone find the timing of this extremely odd?
"Botched raid kills Karzai’s cousin; Shooting adds to anger over NATO handling of war" March 11, 2011|Ernesto Londono, Washington Post
KABUL, Afghanistan — The accidental killing of a cousin of President Hamid Karzai by a US Special Forces team yesterday became the latest in a string of high-profile civilian casualties that have further soured the relationship between the president and his American benefactors....
Gee, Karzai starts complaining and his cousin ends up dead.
Think there is a message for him in there?
Civilian deaths caused by NATO have declined over the past year, even as the tempo of the war has dramatically increased....
Does that MAKE SENSE TO YOU?
Still, US military officials say the prominent nature of several recent incidents could severely undermine the counterinsurgency effort here as the war continues in its 10th year.
Whenever the AmeriKan media uses words like still or but it means the previous sentences were bullshit.
The incident comes a little more than a week after NATO pilots in eastern Afghanistan mistakenly killed nine boys collecting firewood....
And they IMMEDIATELY DENIED IT!
It also provoked demonstrations by Afghans angry over what is perceived as disregard among foreigners for Afghan lives....
Gee, I can't imagine why they would feel that way (as the doors get kicked in at night and the missiles fly).
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"NATO airstrike accidentally kills 7 civilians in Afghanistan" March 27, 2011|By Solomon Moore, Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — A provincial governor in Afghanistan’s dangerous south said yesterday that seven civilians were accidentally killed when a NATO helicopter fired on two vehicles believed to be carrying Taliban fighters....
How many "accidents" are we going to have over there, huh?
After a while they are REALLY NO LONGER ACCIDENTS, are they?
The international alliance said it was investigating....
Translation: they are working on the cover-up.
A statement issued by the Helmand provincial governor’s office said seven people — two men, two women, and three children — were killed when coalition forces fired on the suspects. Those killed were in another vehicle traveling near the targeted ones. Five others Afghan civilians — a man, woman, and three children — were wounded, the governor’s office said.
Provincial Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal condemned the civilian casualties.
The deaths came only two days after the international coalition accidentally killed two civilians in the eastern province of Khost. The two were walking near a car with suspected insurgents and were not seen until after a NATO helicopter gunship launched Wednesday’s strike, NATO said.
An ACCIDENT A DAY?
At least four other people were killed in three separate attacks in southern Afghanistan on Friday, including a child, a NATO soldier, and two civilians on a motorcycle....
International troops have been trying to pacify the restive south, the heartland of the Taliban, and have met fierce resistance.
And here the AmeriKan media has told us they scooted to other areas.
Karzai traveled to Iran for a Persian New Year’s ceremony....
Oh, I'm sure THAT did not go over well with his AmeriKan benefactors.
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Related:
"Three children died from an insurgent grenade tossed during a NATO operation in the north. The women and children had been placed in a courtyard by coalition forces for their safety."
Time to leave.
