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At least 30 Afghan civilians killed in air strike
By David Fox 2 hours, 37 minutes ago
KABUL (Reuters) - More than 30 civilians were reported killed and dozens
wounded on Saturday in an air strike by foreign forces fighting the
Taliban in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, a regional official
said.
"It happened in the early morning," provincial official Mohammed Daoud
told Reuters. "Between 30-37 civilians have been killed and tens (dozens)
of others have been injured."
Other local officials gave different but similar accounts of the
casualties.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) for Afghanistan confirmed the incident, but said his reports from
the field said only "a small number" of civilians had been involved.
U.S. Air Force Major John Thomas said that after a long skirmish and under
constant fire from the Taliban, ISAF troops called for air support during
an operation in Girishk, Helmand province, where the Taliban has been
resurgent this year.
"All enemy positions were destroyed, but after friendly forces surveyed
the area there were reports of some possible civilian deaths," he said.
"The remains of some people who appeared to be civilians were found among
enemy fighters in a trenchline."
Foreign forces in Afghanistan frequently accuse the Taliban of using
civilians as human shields.
CHILDREN INJURED
A Reuters photographer saw several children being treated at a Helmand
hospital for injuries they said they received in the airstrike.
The rising toll the conflict is taking on Afghan civilians is a sore point
for Western-backed President Hamid Karzai, who is also struggling to stamp
out corruption and boost the economy.
Nearly seven years after the Taliban were overthrown in the wake of the
September 11 attacks on the United States, the fundamentalist Islamic
group has regained strength and is engaged in daily clashes with U.S.-led
forces in the country.
Government officials, residents and aid groups say over 300 civilians have
been killed in operations led by foreign forces this year alone. Scores
more have been killed in Taliban suicide and roadside bomb attacks.
Earlier on Saturday, visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
told a news conference that accidental deaths of civilians should not be
compared to the toll caused by the Taliban.
"It is very, very foolish for any person of goodwill to try to create some
sort of moral equivalence between NATO and what the Taliban does" he said.
"We will make every effort to avoid civilian casualties, against the
Taliban, which is making every effort to cause civilian casualties."
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