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BBC NEWS | South Asia | US Afghan strikes 'killed dozens' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8035204.stm

US Afghanistan Pakistan Mingora Farah ICRC

shared by Argos Media on 06 May 09 - Cached
  • The Red Cross says air strikes by US forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday are now thought to have killed dozens of civilians including women and children.
  • Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in the US for talks with President Barack Obama, has ordered an investigation. Civilian deaths will be high on the agenda at the White House, where talks will also include Pakistan's president.
  • Mr Zardari arrives in Washington facing a growing crisis in his own country amid a new outbreak of fighting between the army and Taleban rebels in the Swat Valley region. Thousands of residents there are reported to be fleeing their homes as a peace deal between the government and Taleban militants appears close to collapse. Fighting flared overnight in Mingora, the main town in Swat, and continued into Wednesday, reports said.
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  • The government has warned that 500,000 people could try to leave if the peace deal formally breaks down, although the BBC's Mark Dummett, in Islamabad, says the army has not yet launched the offensive most are now expecting.
  • Afghan officials said Tuesday's violence broke out after more than 100 Taleban militants attacked a police checkpoint in Farah, in the far west of Afghanistan, killing three police.
  • The insurgents then reportedly moved to a nearby village where they killed three civilians who they accused of spying for the government. As the fighting continued, US airstrikes targeted militants thought to be sheltering in nearby houses. At least 25 Taleban fighters were reported to have died. But a growing number of reports from the area now suggest civilians were also seeking refuge in the buildings. Our correspondent in Kabul said local officials told him they saw the bodies of about 20 women and children in two trucks.
  • A spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said a team of observers sent to the site of the air strikes saw houses destroyed and dozens of dead bodies, including women and children. "We can absolutely confirm there were civilian casualties," Jessica Barry said.
  • The US military said coalition troops were called to assist Afghan forces as they attempted to fight off an insurgent attack.
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