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Rumsfeld
Says Raid May Have Killed Afghan Allies
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| Rumsfield
says Afghan allies killed |
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 6(IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald
Rumsfeld, raised the possibility Monday that U.S. troops killed or wounded
friendly Afghans by mistake in a raid last month north of Kandhar where as many
as 15 people were killed.
Rumsfeld
said U.S. troops have returned to Hazar Qadam to reconstruct what happened
January 24 when U.S. special forces raided what was initially believed to be an
aA-Qaeda compound and clusters of other buildings in the area 100 kilometers (60
miles) north of Kandhar.
The
Washington Post reported that if it were the case that U.S. forces killed
allies, Rumsfeld hoped U.S. troops investigating the incident would
"express apologies."
Rumsfeld
said he was unaware that U.S. soldiers had already apologized and were paying
the families of each man killed $1,000 in $100 bills, the Post reported.
As
many as 15 people were killed in an intense gun battle triggered by the raid,
which uncovered a large cache of munitions. The investigation was launched
following charges by villagers and local officials that those killed were forces
friendly to the interim government of Hamid Karzai who were gathering weapons
being handed over as part of a disarmament campaign.
"I
don't want to prejudge what the investigation will show, but I think it is
entirely possible that everyone in a situation like this - let me make it
generic - everyone can be correct," said Rumsfeld.
He
said U.S. troops might have been fired on first when they approached the
building, and then returned fire. But "when the dust settled and everyone
looked around, ... it may well turn out that in a situation like that you will,
in fact, have people who are friendly and people who are not friendly. "And
the people who are not friendly initiate the fire, the return fire then comes in
and ends up, unfortunately, killing or wounding some individuals that might have
been friendly," he said.
In
addition to those killed in the raid, special forces captured 27 others who have
been detained since by U.S. forces in Kandhar.
Rear
Admiral Craig Quigley, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said
investigators have not determined whether any of those killed were friendly
forces.
"But
that's not getting our first focus. Our first focus is the living, the 27 we
have detained," he said.
The
investigation is likely to reach some early conclusions about whether any of the
detainees should be released before addressing the larger question of whether
mistakes were made by U.S. forces, he said. "But because that part is not
done, that is no reason not to perhaps release some guys if that's what we find
is the right thing to do," he added.
The
probe was triggered by a request from Karzai to Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S.
Central Command chief and the Pentagon's top battlefield commander in
Afghanistan.
Rumsfeld
and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Monday raised
the issue of the investigation with Franks, but have given no sign of pressing
him for a report.
Some
officials in Hazar Qadam have raised the possibility that two rival factions at
different compounds in the town, both loyal to Karzai's government, provided
U.S. forces with false accusations about the other, only to have U.S. forces
raid both locations, the Post reported.
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