KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Sept 5, (AFP) - Afghans on Saturday mourned the dead from a NATO bombing that killed scores of people and renewed an outcry over civilian casualties at the hands of Western troops in an eight-year war.
The air strike destroyed two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban at a time when witnesses said villagers had rushed towards the vehicles, carrying any container they could to collect free fuel at the insurgents' invitation.
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| ISAF Director of Communication Rear Admiral Gregory Smith (C) talks to a boy injured during an air strike, at a hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, September 5, |
Officials said the dead were mostly insurgents, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- leading the count in fraud-tainted elections -- said any targeting of civilians was unacceptable. His office said 90 people were killed and hurt.
Memorial prayers were heard Saturday in nearly a dozen villages for those who were killed in northern Kunduz province, where the atmosphere was highly charged, witnesses said.
The air strike also underscored the increasing Taliban presence in parts of the north that straddle a new supply route for foreign troops coming through Tajikistan in order to minimise dependence on the volatile route from Pakistan.
The White House expressed “great concern” over the loss of civilian lives while European governments warned the raid risked undermining the NATO mission of 64,500 troops from more than 40 countries trying to defeat the Taliban.
NATO, UN and Afghan teams have been on the ground investigating how many people died, their identities and the chain of events that led to the strike.
Police and the interior ministry said up to 56 Taliban were killed and 10 more wounded, including a 12-year-old child, when a NATO air raid targeted the tankers after they were hijacked en route from Tajikistan to Kabul.
Mahbubullah Sayedi, a spokesman for the government in Kunduz gave the highest death toll, saying 90 people were killed, but said most were Taliban. |
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