U.S. troops fired on civilians: Afghan witnesses

[helderheid]

U.S. troops fired on civilians: Afghan witnesses

Updated Sun. Mar. 4 2007 11:31 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Afghan authorities and witnesses dispute a U.S. military claim that militant gunfire may have caused Afghan civilian deaths after a suicide bomber attacked a convoy of U.S. Marines.

Up to 10 people were killed and 35 were wounded in Sunday's incident. The U.S. military puts the toll at eight, while the Afghan interior ministry uses the higher toll.

The death toll had been pegged as high as 16 in earlier reports. One U.S. soldier was also wounded in the clash.

One official of Shinwar district in Nangarhar province said as the Americans fled the scene of the bombing, they treated every Afghan as a potential attacker.

More than half a dozen Afghans who were struck by bullets told The Associated Press that the American troops started shooting indiscriminately as they drove along a 10-kilometre stretch of highway.

"I saw them turning and firing in this direction, then turning and firing in that direction," Ahmed Najib, a 23-year-old wounded by gunfire, told the Associated Press. "I even saw a farmer shot by the Americans."

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[Erika]

1. Our troops in disarray

But they escaped the price.

[w8liftinglady]

2. what the hell is happening?We have created a monster.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. What else do you expect? Those guys aren't policemen

they are warriors with gigantic guns & are looked at as occupiers.

[SoCalDem]

4. No surprising at all.. When "everyone" a potential "enemy"

and there's no common language, this sirt of stuff is bound to happen.

The really sad thing is that we try over and over to cover it up, instead of admitting that a grievous mistake was made..

The instant I heard about the film being confiscated, I "knew' that the story smelled like fish :(

[Vidar]

5. What did those orders say about "leaving witnesses"?