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Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
Here's what undermines American and NATO campaign in Afghanistan, and this is not the first nor the second or third time I read something like this:
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American forces fleeing a militant ambush opened fire on civilians on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, those wounded in the violence told The Associated Press.
Up to 16 people were killed and 34 were wounded on the same day that two NATO soldiers were killed in an unrelated incident.
More than half a dozen Afghans who were struck by bullets told The Associated Press that the American troops started shooting indiscriminately as they tried to flee along a 10-kilometre stretch of highway.
The alleged incident happened after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled minivan near the U.S. convoy.
The route -- one of the busiest in the region, is often filled with cars and trucks and Afghans on bicycles and on foot.
"They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway," said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside near a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. "They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot."
Mohammed Khan Katawazi, the district chief of Shinwar, told AP that the U.S. soldiers treated every vehicle and person on the busy highway as a potential attacker.
The U.S. military has acknowledged casualties occurred, but has not yet determined whether American soldiers were responsible.
Maj. William Mitchell, a U.S. military spokesman, said militants launched a "complex" attack, firing at the coalition forces from three different points after the suicide bomb.
A military statement said the troops returned fire as they fled.
"We certainly believe it's possible that the incoming fire from the ambush was wholly or partly responsible for the civilian casualties," he said.
Reports on the number of casualties have varied widely.
The U.S. military said 16 civilians were killed and 24 wounded "during the initial attack."
Ajmel Pardus, the Nangarhar provincial health chief, said eight people were killed, including a woman and two boys, and 34 were wounded. Four of the injured were in critical condition, he said.
One U.S. soldier was also wounded in the clash.
After the incident, angry demonstrations erupted in the region which is located roughly 50 kilometres west of the Pakistan border.
Hundreds of Afghans blocked the road and threw rocks at police, with some demonstrators shouting "Death to America! Death to Karzai," referring to President Hamid Karzai.
Victims at the Jalalabad hospital told AP they followed U.S. orders to pull over as the fleeing convoy approached, but were still hit by gunfire.
"When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle," said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. "It was a convoy of three American humvees. All three humvees were firing around."
In the next bed, Ahmed Najib, 23, was recovering from a bullet in his right shoulder.
"One American was in the first vehicle, shouting to stop on the side of the road, and we stopped. The first vehicle did not fire on us, but the second opened fire on our car," he said, adding that his 2-year-old brother was grazed by a bullet on his cheek.
"I saw them turning and firing in this direction, then turning and firing in that direction. I even saw a farmer shot by the Americans."
Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers have been reported killed in southern Afghanistan.
There is no word yet on how the NATO soldiers were killed.
An AP photographer and camera operator said the U.S. military later deleted photos and video taken by them, though neither had witnessed the suicide attack or resulting gunfire and weren't sure why their pictures had been deleted.
The U.S. forces involved in the attack and ensuing gunfire were part of the U.S.-led coalition, not NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
A man claiming to speak for Hezb-e-Islami, a group he said is linked with the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers were killed in an unrelated attack.
Not details have been revealed about the incident in Helmand province, but NATO has confirmed the two soldiers killed were not Canadians.
The International Security Assistance Force hasn't identified their nationalities or said where or how the deaths happened.
Canada's troops operate in Kandahar province, while British troops are based in neighbouring Helmand province.
British troops have been involved in a number of clashes with the Taliban in recent weeks.
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http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/Si...detect=&abc=abc
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