Eight (Afghan) civilians killed in U.S. strike on Taliban

[Barrett808]

KABUL (Reuters) - At least eight Afghan nomads, including women and children, were killed in a U.S. air strike in Afghanistan that also killed two Taliban guerrillas, Afghan officials said on Saturday.

In a separate incident, Taliban guerrillas killed a district police chief in the southern province of Kandahar, underscoring a revival of violence recently in a country that has seen mostly strife for the past quarter-century.

The civilians died in their beds when a bomb landed on their tent in Naw Bahar district of the southern province of Zabul on Wednesday night, said deputy provincial governor Mohammad Omar.

A U.S. military spokesman said he could not immediately confirm the report.

Mohammad Gul Neyazi, a top commander of the Taliban, and another Taliban guerrilla were also killed during the attack in the remote district near the border with Pakistan, Omar said.

"The figure I have for the civilian death toll is at least eight," Omar told Reuters. "The Taliban commander and his friend were apparently using a satellite phone, the signal of which was detected by American aircraft which then carried out the attack."

(more)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/030920/137/27wva.html

[Barrett808]

1. more links

U.S. helicopters bomb tent in Afghanistan, killing Taliban commander and 10 nomads
NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writer Saturday, September 20, 2003

(09-20) 10:22 PDT KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) --

U.S. helicopters bombed a tent in southern Afghanistan, killing two Taliban militants including a top commander as well as 10 nomadic tribesmen, a deputy governor in Zabul province said Saturday.

The U.S. military confirmed the attack and said it killed Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi, a former Taliban commander in the capital Kabul. Deputy governor Mullah Mohammed Umer said Gul Niazi had been leading attacks against U.S.-led forces in the province for the past year.

Umer told The Associated Press by satellite phone that the incident took place Thursday night in the district of Naubahar, 120 miles northeast of Kandahar, though a statement by the U.S. military spoke of an operation on Wednesday.

The Taliban militants took refuge in the tent after seeing the American helicopters, Umer said.

"We only know that Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi was using a satellite phone when two American helicopters reached there," he said. "Ten innocent nomads were killed because of these Taliban."

The U.S. statement said it was "highly confident that only combatant anti-coalition persons were killed or wounded."

(more)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/20/international1322EDT0527.DTL

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12 killed in US bombing in Afghanistan 1:15 pm IST
KANDAHAR: US helicopters have bombed a tent in southern Afghanistan, killing two Taliban militants and 10 gypsies, a deputy governor in Zabul province claimed Saturday. Attempts to confirm the incident with US forces in Afghanistan were not immediately successful.

The deputy governor, Mullah Mohammed Umer, told The Associated Press by satellite phone that the incident took place on Thursday night in the district of Naubahar, 200 kilometers northeast of Kandahar.

The Taliban militants had taken refuge in the tent after seeing the American helicopters, he said. A local Taliban commander, Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi, who has been leading attacks against US-led coalition forces in Zabul for the past year, was among the dead, Umer said.

"We only know that Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi was using a satellite phone when two American helicopters reached there," he said. "Ten innocent gypsies were killed because of these Taliban."

http://www.kaumudi.com/news/092003/breakpage.stm#12

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U.S. choppers kill guerrillas, civilians near Kandahar

Kandahar, Afghanistan — U.S. helicopters bombed a tent in southern Afghanistan, killing two suspected Taliban militants and 10 nomadic tribesmen, a deputy governor in Zabul province said Saturday.

Attempts to confirm his account with U.S. forces in Afghanistan were not immediately successful.

The deputy governor, Mullah Mohammed Umer, told The Associated Press by satellite phone that the incident took place Thursday night in the district of Naubahar, 200 kilometres northeast of Kandahar.

The Taliban militants had taken refuge in the tent after seeing the American helicopters, he said.

A local Taliban commander, Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi, who has been leading attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in Zabul for the past year, was among the dead, Mr. Umer said.

“We only know that Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi was using a satellite phone when two American helicopters reached there,” he said. “Ten innocent gypsies were killed because of these Taliban.”

(more)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030920.wafghan0920/BNStory/International/

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Here's one more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3125498.stm

US air raid 'kills Afghan nomads'

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Hey, hey what do you say
How many people did W kill today

[efhmc]

3. Thanks you for this information, but what I want to know is if there is

any information in the mainstream US media that gives an account of the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the start of our invasion?

[VolcanoJen]

4. Dupe... locking

Please continue discussion by posting in the original, earliest LBN thread on this topic, which can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=124003

Barrett808, your link to the Yahoo story would be helpful in the other thread; it hasn't been posted there yet.

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator