A district government official in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province is confirming today that NATO attack helicopters targeted a group of civilians in an orchard near the town of Andar, killing four children and wounding three other civilians.
The attack came after unknown insurgents fired on the troops. NATO had initially claimed that all four children killed in the attack were “insurgents” but now says it is investigating the local government’s reports to the contrary.
It is the second major attack invoving civilian deaths this week. On Sunday NATO launched air strikes in two provinces, and despite initially claiming that only “70 Taliban” were killed it was later revealed that one of the strikes had actually hit a civilian target, killing at least 13.
Civilian deaths have been on the rise for months in Afghanistan, with fighting between insurgent and occupation forces taking an increasing toll on those caught in between them. The Afghan government has repeatedly complained about civilian killings by NATO troops, but the recent trend has been toward relaxing the rules of engagement amid claims it was harming morale.
'tis terrorism, plain and simple terrorism.
children were "insurgents." What a dirty little comment.
these seem more random than specific killings
just an honest mistake.
The rules of engagement need to be relaxed to raise the morale of the troops/ Sounds logical to me/ So what if several Afghan humans have to be killed on a daily basis/ As long as the troops are happy and morale is good all is right in world/
I've got an even better morale booster: bring the troops home.
Ditto.
What exactly is the definition of an 'insurgent' …while youre at it whats the definition of a 'civliian' according the the US/NATOmilitary ?
not morale, their morals need a large boost.
"" A city official in Ohio is confirming today that NATO attack helicopters targeted a group of civilians in an orchard near the city limits, killing four children and wounding three other civilians.
The attack came after unknown insurgents fired on the troops. NATO had initially claimed that all four children killed in the attack were “insurgents” but now says it is investigating the local government’s reports to the contrary. ""
WAY TO GO TEAM !!! Doesn't sound so nice when it's applied to Americans, does it? Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that there are military folks overhead, armed to the teeth, who can't tell the difference between a child and a man carrying a gun. Oh- wait- it's not happening here so of course it's okay; it's probably just a family picking fruit that got blown away, no big deal.
May Allah(swt) have mercy on the USA.