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Drunken U.S. Troops Kill 4 Afghan Soldiers: Al-Jazeera 05/21/03: (IOL) Drunken U.S. soldiers opened fire Wednesday, May 21, at Afghan soldiers standing out side the American Embassy in Kabul killing four and injuring two others, reported Al-Jazeera TV channel. But
amid conflicting of what had really happened, Afghanistan's head of
security Basir Salangi told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that
"American soldiers guarding the entrance to the U.S. embassy opened
fire by mistake on a group of Afghan soldiers who were unloading some
material from the other side of the road, in front of an Afghan security
agency building. "The
Americans thought it was an attack attempt, it was a
misunderstanding." The
Afghan troops injured in the U.S. fire were rushed to a nearby hospital,
while the road in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission was temporarily
closed and cordons off, with police deployed in the immediate vicinity. While
three soldiers died on the spot, the fourth was one of the wounded who
breathed his last after being admitted to Kabul Military Hospital, said
a doctor who wished to remain anonymous. The
man had six bullet wounds: one in the head and five in the chest, he
said. Salangi's
deputy, General Mohammad Khalil Amin Zadar said the Afghans did not
return fire and said the incident was under investigation. A
spokesperson for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
said she believed the Afghan soldiers -- working at a garrison opposite
the embassy -- fired at what they thought was a suspicious vehicle, CNN
reported. When
the gunfire went in the direction of the embassy, the U.S. soldiers
returned fire, hitting their Afghan counterparts, Sarah Wood argued. A
statement regarding the incident would be released later in the day, an
American embassy spokesman said. French peacekeeping troops, however, said they were caught in an exchange of fire, according to a spokesman for the French contingent of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) responsible for security in Kabul. "A French army vehicle was passing by at the time and was caught in the crossfire," Major Jackie Fouquereau told AFP. "They had to stop the vehicle and take cover. Our soldiers shot twice in the direction of an Afghan soldier who was shooting in the direction of the embassy. We took him prisoner and also took under charge another injured Afghan," he said. The heavily fortified U.S. embassy compound, guarded by soldiers in watchtowers and protected by piles of sandbags, lies opposite to several Afghan military buildings and a vast enclosed military compound. The BBC's Kylie Morris in Kabul said that after the shooting, tensions on the streets were high as local intelligence officers and soldiers moved to disperse the crowd that had gathered to find out what had happened. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been informed and is reportedly planning a formal investigation of the incident.
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