NATO Occupation Forces Accused of Executing Afghan Civilians

Afghan father in hospital after losing wife, children in NATO bombing

By: SUE BAILEY

10/20/06 -- - October 19, 2006 - 15:35 -- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Abdul Karim is recovering in hospital after a village bombing just west of Kandahar killed his wife, son and two daughters.

Another son wounded in the 2 a.m. NATO attack Wednesday was finished off by unidentified soldiers who entered the family's ruined mud home to search it, said the distraught farmer.

Karim, 60, had tried to conceal his 16-year-old son under a blanket, he said through a translator in an interview at the Mirwaise Hospital in Kandahar.

"When they saw my son in wounded condition, they shot him and killed him in front of my eyes."

Karim and his only surviving child, an 18-year-old son, were both hit as three homes in the tiny village of Ashogha were pummelled by helicopter and jet air strikes.

The young man ran for cover in a dried stream bed as rockets and bombs blasted suspected Taliban positions. He awoke in hospital with numerous wounds, including to his left foot and side.

"Now I and my son Sakhi Jan, we are admitted in hospital and we want justice," said Karim.

At least three soldiers came to search the house, he said. In the darkness and confusion, however, he could only describe them as being "foreign."

Maj. Daryl Morrell, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said he could not disclose which, if any, ground troops took part in the planned operation to detain suspects in recent roadside bombings in the adjacent Panjwaii district.

Nor could Morrell say whether Canadian artillery units in the region were used, citing "operational reasons."

The nationality of the planes involved in the air strike was not disclosed. Canada does not have strike aircraft in the region, although some 2,200 Canadian troops are stationed in Kandahar province.

There was no immediate word on whether Abdul Karim's allegations about his son's death will be investigated by NATO.

His village was attacked about one kilometre from the scene of September's Operation Medusa, one of the fiercest battles between western forces and insurgents since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.

NATO said in a statement it regrets any civilian casualties, and makes every effort to minimize such incidents.

Shell-shocked villagers in Ashogha angrily condemned the raid - a potential setback for coalition forces trying to win crucial support from Afghans in their fight against increasingly bold insurgents.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly demanded that NATO and U.S.-led coalition troops take more care to avoid hurting civilians during military operations. Incidents like the deaths in Ashogha only undermine his government's already-weak standing in many parts of the country.

Karzai said nine civilians were killed and 11 wounded during the Ashogha attack, while another 11 civilians died during a fight in Tajikan village in neighbouring Helmand province Wednesday.

"I have mentioned this several times in the past that every effort should be made to ensure the safety of civilians and that inflicting harm to them is not acceptable to us," the president said in a statement. "Once again, I urge NATO forces to take maximum caution during their military operations to avoid harming civilians."

© 2006 Rogers Communications Inc