AFGHANISTAN: Gen.: German troops OK in calling for airstrike

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

AP

October 29, 2009

BERLIN — A top German general said Thursday that a NATO investigation of an airstrike against a pair of hijacked Afghan tanker trucks showed the attack was appropriate even though it led to civilian casualties.

Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, who is the general inspector of the German army, also said that the exact death toll could no longer be confirmed.

AFGHANISTAN: NATO probes death of four Afghan civilians

By AFP

October 25, 2009

KABUL — The NATO-led force in Afghanistan has launched an investigation into the deaths of four civilians it killed by firing on their vehicle in the southern city of Kandahar, the alliance force said.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said its troops opened fire Saturday “when the driver of a local vehicle failed to stop when approaching ISAF troops.”

“According to the initial report, ISAF troops tried repeatedly to signal the fast-approaching vehicle with passive measures, but fearing for their safety fired on the vehicle,” the ISAF statement said.

Afghan authorities had earlier said two women and a child were among the dead, while two or three other civilians were also wounded.

Afghanistan: Netherlands admits air strike that killed Afghan civilians

Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Date: 02 Oct 2009

THE HAGUE, Oct 2, 2009 (AFP) – A Dutch warplane dropped the bomb which Afghan authorities said killed nine civilians and four Taliban fighters in the south of the country on Wednesday, the Dutch defence ministry said.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan girl killed by British leaflet drop

Reuters

By MICHAEL HOLDEN

LONDON (Reuters) – An Afghan girl died after a box of information leaflets — dropped by a British military plane and intended to help the local population — landed on top of her, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.

The MoD said it had launched an investigation into the incident which occurred three months ago in a rural area of Helmand in southern Afghanistan where British troops are battling Taliban insurgents.

Civilian casualties have become an extremely sensitive issue in Afghanistan, with U.S. commander General Stanley McChyrstal warning that protecting civilians from U.S. and NATO air strikes is essential to getting the upper hand in the conflict.

AFGHANISTAN: Canadian forces fire on speeding motorcycle, two Afghans dead

The Canadian Press

By BILL GRAVELAND

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian troops in the dangerous Panjwaii district west of Kandahar city fired on a speeding motorcycle Thursday evening, killing an apparently unarmed driver and his passenger.

The incident occurred while a shura, or community meeting, was being held near a mosque in the village of Pay-e-Moluk.

Maj. Vance White, senior public affairs officer for Canada’s Task Force Kandahar, said Friday that a motorcycle carrying two “fighting-aged males” rapidly advanced and “showed intent to penetrate the security cordon.”

“Verbal and visual warnings were used and one aimed warning shot was fired close to the motorcycle to alert the driver to stop,” he said.

“The driver did not heed the warnings. In fact he accelerated, demonstrating known insurgent protocols. Soldiers then fired shots in order to stop the motorcycle.”

The two men sustained gunshot wounds and were immediately taken to the nearby Forward Operating Base at Sperwan Ghar and received treatment. But they died of their wounds about 40 minutes later.