U.S. Says Troops Fired at Crowd In Afghan Capital

Shooting Was in Self-Defense, Spokesman for Military Says

By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service

06/01/06 "Washington Post" -- -- KABUL, Afghanistan, May 31 -- U.S. military officials acknowledged Wednesday that American troops had fired at an angry mob that surrounded the scene of a traffic accident in the Afghan capital Monday morning. Officials previously had said the troops fired only into the air.

In the fatal accident, the driver of a U.S. military cargo truck lost control and struck 12 vehicles in rush-hour traffic, killing one person and injuring six, the military said. The incident sparked violent, day-long riots that ended with 20 dead, 160 injured and dozens of buildings badly damaged.

President Bush spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday and pledged a full investigation, White House press secretary Tony Snow said in Washington, according to the Associated Press.

The incident has exposed deep public resentment against the presence of foreign troops here and shaken investor confidence in the fledgling postwar economy at a time when Afghanistan faces a mounting threat from armed Taliban fighters and other insurgents in the countryside.

"Initial indications from our investigation are that coalition soldiers did in fact use their weapons in self-defense," Col. Thomas Collins, a U.S. military spokesman, said at a news conference here. He said it appeared that gunfire had come from the crowd and that the troops had "used their weapons to defend themselves."

Collins said that he had no further details but that an investigation was underway.

Several people taken to hospitals in Kabul on Monday were suffering from gunshot wounds, but it was not clear who had shot them. During the day, rioters clashed repeatedly with Afghan police and burned their checkpoints. Some rioters were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, witnesses said.

Collins repeatedly expressed regret for the accident and the deaths. But he also said the truck driver had done everything possible to avoid hitting pedestrians and occupied vehicles after his brakes failed on a steep hill leading down to a busy intersection.

After the accident, he said, U.S. troops in the convoy began to aid injured civilians but were quickly surrounded by an angry crowd of 300 to 500 men who started to throw stones at them. He said that city police soon arrived and formed a barricade around the halted convoy, but that the crowd became increasingly hostile. The U.S. troops decided to leave, firing some shots in the process, he said.

Collins said no U.S. soldier had been injured, but he added, "That doesn't mean they were not in serious, immediate danger of injury or death." He said victims of the accident and their families would be compensated.

News videos of the scene showed a large group of men shouting and throwing stones, then ducking and running as Humvees and other military vehicles sped past, amid sounds of gunfire.

As word of the accident and possible civilian shootings spread through the city, enraged mobs swarmed into downtown Kabul, attacking banks, hotels and foreign aid offices and burning dozens of cars. Many shouted anti-American slogans. It was the worst violence in the Afghan capital since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

A curfew was announced Monday night and calm had returned to the city Tuesday, but Afghan army troops have been heavily patrolling the area since. Many Afghans have condemned the street violence, but they have also blamed U.S. troops for causing the accident and expressed broader anger at their aggressive driving and treatment of civilians.

Collins said that he was aware of such criticisms and that coalition officials "take that feedback very, very seriously." He said the U.S.-led forces were here "at the request of the Afghan people and we must always act responsibly." Afghans "have a right to know" exactly what happened Monday, he said, "and we want to know, too."

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

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