Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 5, 2009

Afghan Villagers Say 4 Civilians Killed in Airstrike
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=25C5C47:A6F02AD83191E1600056923510D0C683F47489ACC27D21EE&
 
But US military officials say helicopters operating in Arghandab
district attacked, killed four militants riding motorcycles in field
away from populated sites 
Afghan villagers look at bodies of two children and man after they were
allegedly killed in airstrike by foreign troops in Kandahar, 5 Aug
2009Afghan villagers say a foreign airstrike in southern Afghanistan has
killed four civilians, three of them children. The villagers say
missiles struck a house in Arghandab district near the southern city of
Kandahar before dawn Wednesday, killing three boys and a man from the
same family. They protested the attack by bringing the bodies of the
four to Kandahar city and chanting anti-American slogans. U.S. military
officials say helicopters operating in the area early Wednesday attacked
and killed four militants riding motorcycles in a field away from
populated sites. They say the militants were carrying jugs that
exploded. The U.S. military says it is investigating reports of civilian
casualties in the incident. Deaths of Afghan civilians in foreign
military operations have caused resentment among the public. Afghan
President Hamid Karzai!
  has called repeatedly for a stop to air strikes in populated areas.
U.S. General Stanley Mc Chrystal ordered U.S. and NATO troops last month
to limit the use of air strikes to try to reduce such casualties. U.S.
forces also frequently accuse militants of disguising fighters as
civilians. In other developments, a roadside bomb struck a civilian
vehicle in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province Wednesday, killing
six people. Officials say the dead include two tribal elders and four
workers who were traveling to a meeting with local officials. Taliban
militants have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan ahead of an August
20 presidential election that they have vowed to disrupt.

 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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