U.S. denies 147 civilians killed in Afghan violence

Saturday 09th May, 05:42 AM JST

KABUL —

Video of the aftermath of a disputed incident involving American forces and the Taliban shows bloodied bodies of children laid out with other corpses, confirming international Red Cross findings at the two remote villages in western Afghanistan.

The U.S. military does not contest that civilians died but called “extremely over-exaggerated” a report by an Afghan official that as many as 147 were killed.

Afghans blame aerial bombing Monday and Tuesday for the deaths and destruction. U.S. officials have suggested that Taliban fighters caused at least some of the deaths, and said investigators on a joint U.S.-Afghan team were still analyzing data collected in the villages of Ganjabad and Gerani in Farah province.

In a video obtained Friday by Associated Press Television News, villagers are seen wrapping the mangled bodies of some of the victims in blankets and cloths and lining them up on the dusty ground.

In one shot, two children are lifted from a blanket with another adult already in it. The children’s faces are blackened, and parts of their tunics are soaked in what appears to be dried blood.

Their limp bodies are then put on the ground, wrapped in another cloth and placed next to the other bodies. It was not clear how many bodies were in the room where the video was shot.

The man who shot the video said many of the bodies he filmed Tuesday in Gerani were in pieces. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from security agencies.

It was not possible to verify independently the authenticity of the video. The International Committee of the Red Cross also has said that women and children were among dozens of dead people its teams saw in the two villages.

On Thursday, a local official said he collected from residents the names of 147 people killed in the fighting. If true, it would be the deadliest case of civilian casualties in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban regime.

Villagers “were pointing to graves and saying, ‘This is my son, this is my daughter,’” said Abdul Basir Khan, a member of Farah’s provincial council. He said he gave his tally to the investigators.

The U.S. military described that toll as over the top.

“The investigators and the folks on the ground think that those numbers are extremely over-exaggerated,” U.S. military spokeswoman Capt Elizabeth Mathias said. “We are definitely nowhere near those estimates.”

While past reports of civilian deaths at the hands of international forces drew immediate outcries from President Hamid Karzai’s government, this time the response has been muted. The most vehement reaction has come from opposition lawmakers, who demanded an agreement regulating the operations of foreign troops.

After a period of tense relations with the Washington, Karzai appears to have toned down his statements about civilian casualties caused by Western forces even though the issue resonates with Afghan public.

One reason could be that Karzai feels confident he will win re-election in August without further appealing to nationalist emotions, as no strong challenger has emerged and Friday was the deadline for registering as a candidate.

Also, he may not want to stir up anti-American sentiment as the Obama administration rolls out its strategy for the region.

That strategy involves linking success in Afghanistan with security in neighboring Pakistan, where Taliban militants are active along the border. The U.S. has also pledged long-term nonmilitary efforts here—for example, civilian expertise in farming and other specialties—along with an increase of 21,000 U.S. troops.

“If there’s one lesson I draw from the past, it is the importance of our staying engaged,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Friday at Forward Operating Base Airborne in northern Afghanistan, shortly before heading back to Washington.

“And if there’s a lesson for Americans and the international community, it’s that we don’t dare turn our backs on Afghanistan. This will work if we stay engaged.”

In southern Afghanistan, meanwhile, four NATO soldiers and 21 civilians died in a string of insurgent attacks, and an unmanned U.S. drone crashed in central Ghazni province.

Two NATO soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Helmand province Thursday, the alliance announced. The blast also killed 21 civilians and wounded 23 others, said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for Helmand’s governor.

Initially, only 12 people were reported killed in the attack.

In other incidents, a NATO soldier was killed in a roadside bombing and a British soldier died of a gunshot wound Thursday.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency. Obama has ordered thousands of new troops to join the fight there and reverse the Taliban’s gains.

On Friday, a U.S. Air Force Predator drone went down in central Ghazni province’s Qarabagh district, Mathias said. She ruled out insurgent activity in the area of the crash.

However, Zabiullah Mujaheed, a Taliban spokesman, said the militants had shot the drone down. It was impossible to verify his claim.

___

Associated Press correspondent Lara Jakes in Wardak province contributed to this report.

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Latest 15 of 16 Total Comments Show All

Sarge at 10:15 AM JST - 9th May

"Taliban fighters caused at least some of the deaths"

No way!
Den Den at 10:25 AM JST - 9th May

I agree with Sarge. US is butchering civilians.
Sarge at 10:27 AM JST - 9th May

Den Den - It's our way.
SuperLib at 12:13 PM JST - 9th May

jeancolmar: It is also a cheap lie to cover up that once again the US military has blown away innocent civilians.

Says who? You?
smithinjapan at 03:37 PM JST - 9th May

SuperLib: "Says who? You?"

This would not be the first time the US lied, then later admitted, then later admitted MORE, etc. even this year alone. Hell, do a search and you can come up with more than a few threads on this site alone... But here's a quick link to a recent one in April where 'militants' killed by the US army were later 'admitted to be innocents' (women and children).

http://www.watoday.com.au/world/us-military-admits-killing-mother-children-20090410-a2la.html

That's one link of many on that case alone, and here's a general page for links of US forces killing civilians.

http://stpeteforpeace.org/support.troops.html
sailwind at 03:57 PM JST - 9th May

Two NATO soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Helmand province Thursday, the alliance announced. The blast also killed 21 civilians and wounded 23 others, said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for Helmand’s governor.

I wonder if the Taliban are going to say the body count was extremely under-exaggerated on this operation they conducted today. You'd think since they used a suicide bomber he could have waited until the two NATO troops where away from the civilian population. After all it isn't like a JDAM, once it's released you can't call it back.
CZAR202030 at 11:22 PM JST - 9th May

America's awr against teh Tliban was a sure defeat! They installed a notorious and corrupted man Zadari to become that country's preseident! That was an insult and thats why he was seen as a puppet! America was killing innocent people as apretext for their childidh war and they see killing 1000 innocents was justified ! If the Pakistan govt falls, america will be dragged into another conflict and this is deadly,pakistan has nuclear arsenals!
Madverts at 11:31 PM JST - 9th May

"Zadari to become that country's preseident!"

Uhm...he's called Karzai.
SuperLib at 12:42 AM JST - 10th May

smithinjapan: This would not be the first time the US lied

Sorry, you're right. jeancolmar's accusations need no supporting evidence at all.
Triumvere at 01:17 AM JST - 10th May

Smith:

"This would not be the first time the US lied, then later admitted, then later admitted MORE, etc. even this year alone."

Nor would it be the first time that the number of deaths caused by US forces was grossly exaggerated. Frankly, I don't see why you would trust either side. Do you seriously think that either the Army or the villagers or anyone else knows exactly who killed who? The Army just issues automatic denials and the US-detractors automatic accusations.
goodDonkey at 01:55 AM JST - 10th May

Collateral damage is the accidental death of civilians. I want the U.S. to keep true civilian casualties to an absolute minimum. I believe it is the humane thing to do. However eventually it will happen; especially in urban warfare and gorilla warfare. Since the terrorists often integrate themselves among the civilians we can expect a higher rate of collateral damage.

Terrorists may not be considered a military soldier but they are still an enemy combatant. Any enemy combatant may be targeted.

I guess you need to have served in the military to understand that. Maybe not, most people understand it just fine.

I guess just because you understand something doesn't mean you have to be honest about it.
Helter_Skelter at 02:55 AM JST - 10th May

However eventually it will happen; especially in urban warfare

During the Bush administration, the left called civilian casualties war crimes. Now, under Obama, they're just saying sh*t happens. :-D

The "compassionate" left has never really cared about civilian casualties. They only pretend to care when there's political gain to be had.
goodDonkey at 03:39 AM JST - 10th May

When I say I am unhappy with civilian casualties I am being sincere. I will be glad to measure my honesty up with those who state I am not telling the truth. I will let others draw their own conclusions. I just wish it was easier for people to read our history of comments. JT truncates them and it can be difficult to find previous references.

I have spent long periods of time trying to put a human face on the Muslims of the world. I don't feel the differences as much as I feel the similarities. This can be seen throughout my history of posts. Others have never had one good thing to say about any Muslim. It is quite ironic that "political gain" is mentioned as a motive from someone whose post is comparing the "war crimes" of one president to another. I merely defined terms in a factual analysis. I added my concerns over the death of civilians.
smithinjapan at 01:24 PM JST - 10th May

Triumvere: "Frankly, I don't see why you would trust either side."

I don't, to be honest. This article makes it clear that there are suspicions on all sides. Where I put in my two cents was only to remind those that say without a doubt that the US is right that they have lied in plenty of recent cases to make themselves look better, and because things in Afghanistan in particular are exacerbated by civilian deaths. They later come to admit they denied the truth before. I'm willing to bet both parties are exaggerating in this case.
smithinjapan at 01:30 PM JST - 10th May

Helter_Skelter: "During the Bush administration, the left called civilian casualties war crimes. Now, under Obama, they're just saying sh*t happens"

You have that backwards, my friend. What's more, many on 'the Left' have decried Obama previous threads related to this topic and say it is indeed tarnishing his reputation, and if he 'stays the course' that bush started with relation to Afghanistan, and even bolster things, he can and will go down as contributing to war crimes in that regard. Where we have pointed out some clear differences, which of course you clearly ignore, is that when Obama stepped into office in January he was not suddenly a war criminal for what was going on under bush's watch that he inherited.

Anyway, it's good that you can at least finally admit, by your own little challenge thrown out there, that bush is a war criminal.

And yes, we do care about the civilians, which people like myself are on here defending AGAIN today (or did you not see my post earlier in this thread where I post all the similar instances of the US covering up the number of innocent deaths saying they were 'militants' and later admitting they were civilians?). The statement that people don't care about the innocents and only about the politics is best addressed to people like yourself in particular, who say the Palestinians in refugee camps mean nothing and Israel is right, etc. bla bla bla. But that's another topic -- simply wanted to show how hypocritical you are.