Posted on 07/01/2002 7:44:07 PM PDT by Jean S
(Reuters) - A U.S. plane bombed a village in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan on Monday killing at least 30 members of a wedding party and injuring many more, Afghan officials and residents said.
U.S. military officials confirmed there had been civilian casualties and said the incident was being investigated.
The bombing happened at 1 a.m. Monday in a village in the mountainous region 105 miles northeast of the southern city of Kandahar, residents said. They told the local Pashtu service of the BBC at least 120 people had been either killed or wounded.
An Afghan Defense Ministry official said celebrants were firing into the air, as is traditional in Pashtun weddings.
The official, Dr. Gulbuddin, told Reuters: "More than 30 people were killed. It was a wedding ceremony ... Americans have confessed that they made a mistake."
The U.S. military's Central Command said from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, that U.S. B-52 and AC-130 attack aircraft struck targets in the dark, including anti-aircraft artillery that was firing at western warplanes.
"A fact-finding team comprised of officials from the U.S. military, the Afghan government, the American embassy and media representatives will conduct an immediate on-site assessment of the incident," the Central Command, responsible for the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan, said.
BOMB MISSED TARGET
In Washington, the Pentagon said at least one bomb dropped by Western warplanes had missed its target in southern Afghanistan on Monday, but that it could not confirm claims that members of a wedding party had been killed.
U.S. Army Colonel Roger King, speaking at Bagram air base in Eastern Afghanistan, said a coalition reconnaissance operation came under anti-aircraft fire overnight north of Kandahar and had responded with close air support.
"We understand there were some civilian casualties during the operation. We do not yet know how many casualties or how they occurred," he told reporters.
King said four injured civilians had been evacuated by U.S. forces and were being treated.
"The U.S. government extends its deepest sympathies to those who may have lost loved ones or who may have suffered any injuries," he said. "Coalition military forces take extraordinary measures to protect against civilian casualties."
Villager Abdul Saboor told the BBC: "We managed to transfer some of the wounded to Kandahar in the morning. Some of the foreigners' choppers also came to help.
"There are no Taliban or al Qaeda or Arabs here. These people were all civilians, women and children."
The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported that at least 100 people, mainly women, were killed. Quoting sources in the nearby Helmand and Kandahar provinces, it said: "The number of dead and injured could be more than 300."
It said the area was the ancestral home of Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of the vanquished Taliban, and that U.S. forces had launched an operation there several days ago in search of him.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the local Bakhtar Information Agency the "sudden attack" happened in the Dehrawud district of Uruzgan province.
"We are trying to organize aid and a commission has gone there headed by the Ministry of Frontiers Affairs," he said.
The United States launched air strikes in Afghanistan last year against the al Qaeda network of Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, blamed for the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York, and the group's Taliban protectors.
There have been several reports of the United States mistakenly attacking civilian targets in Afghanistan.
In May, the U.S. army rejected reports it had mistakenly attacked a wedding party after AIP reported that U.S. planes had pounded the village of Bul Khil in Khost province after mistaking traditional firing at a wedding for an attack.
One recent military investigation found that a U.S. fighter pilot did not follow procedures when he mistakenly bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan in April, killing four soldiers and injuring eight.
Leni
O-B-L was taking on yet another wifey???
Absolutely. It's traditional in wartime to shoot back when fired upon. I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm flying over a foreign countryside and for whatever reason there is groundfire below, the presumption is hostility; I'm shooting back.
The Court thanks you for that testimony, Lt. Calley.
These people are idiots. Someone needs to familiarize them with the teachings of one Sir Isaac Newton.
A little exagerrated don't you think? Comparing this to My Lai? These Afghans were, infact, armed. They were, in fact, shooting up into the air while planes were flying. Uncle Darwin strikes again (with the help of U.S. airpower).
Or at least not their anti-aircraft artillery.
Perhaps. But there's a fair question there, too : on what grounds is Afghanistan still a free-fire zone for US airpower? They've elected a new Parliament, right?
While I hold the Afghans in no high regard, you do have a point. The Taliban has been obliterated. Osama is likely dead. WTF are we still doing there?
Afghanistan is an ugly, inhospitable place. The media has painted our Afghan allies in a sympathetic light but we all know better. The Afghans in general and the Pashtuns in particular are an uncivilized, barbaric, savage lot who place no value on human life. The longer the U.S. remains there, the more likely we are to find this out for ourselves in vivid color.
It is good that they elected their own parliament. While I hope it works out for them I am not going to hold my breath. Their's is a culture that worships death (like the rest of their mohammedan brethren).
Don't know about Afganastan but I know in Morocco they last for several days. Those weddings could get pretty interesting..
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