Afghan Protesters Demand US Arrest Troops Over Torture, Killings

Wardak Province Protesters Block Key Highway

Afghan protesters turned out in force in the Wardak Province today, carrying the freshly exhumed bodies of three more victims of the special forces torture scandal that has been rocking the Nirkh District, where villages say US troops routinely raided them and disappeared civilians.

The long-standing complaints about torture in Wardak gained considerable credence this month when the Afghan government obtained a video of a torture taking place in US custody. The victim’s body was found a week later, dumped in a ditch just off-base.

Today’s protesters marched on the Wardak Provincial governor’s office, demanding they do something to ensure the prosecution of US Special Forces killers. Two of the protesters were slain in clashes with police, and the rest fanned out to block the main Afghan highway.

US officials insist all of the allegations about the special forces are “untrue” and that the US was never involved in “unlawful deaths” in Wardak. NATO investigated the reports of disappearances and issued a brief statement terming special forces “blameless” for their actions.

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.