NATO to Probe ‘Misconduct’ Allegations in Recent Afghan Raid

Troops Killed Four in Zabul Province

NATO has announced an investigation into “allegations of misconduct” by occupation forces during a night raid in Afghanistan’s Zabul Province in late April. They are refusing to provide any other details, except that four “insurgents” were killed.

Though NATO agrees to investigations as a matter of course after their assorted misdeeds, this is an unusual case because there have been no public allegations associated with the raid, and indeed previous reports didn’t even acknowledge NATO’s involvement in the attack.

The incident, on April 28, was initially reported as Afghan police killing a “key” Taliban commander and his three bodyguards in Zabul over the course of a multi-hour gunbattle. They claimed to have killed Bakht Mohammed, a top Taliban military commander.

Oddly, the claim was made the day after the incident but never followed up on, and given the high profile nature of the supposed victim it should’ve been a much bigger deal for officials to brag about. There is no indication what the allegations sparking the investigation are, and NATO has refused to provide any details.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.