SHAHI
KOT VALLEY, Afghanistan, March 13 (IslamOnline & News
Agencies)-The U.S. military has admitted killing women and children
in an air strike in Afghanistan a week ago, the BBC’s online news
service reported Wednesday.
The
killings happened in an attack claimed to have been linked to the
major operation against Al-Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in the east
of the country.
This
brief statement is the first admission by the U.S. military that
some women and children have been killed in the major U.S.
offensive, Operation Anaconda, which is continuing in eastern
Afghanistan.
The
military's central command, which controls the Afghan operation,
said two American fighter jets attacked a vehicle in the area on the
morning of March 6.
The
central command statement said the incident happened near Shikin, in
Paktia province, near the Pakistan border.
"The
Shikin area is a suspected sanctuary for the Al-Qaeda and Taliban
and the personnel in this vehicle were believed to be linked to
Al-Qaeda activities," the statement said.
Fourteen
people were killed, most of them adult men, but some women and
children were also killed in the operation.
According
to the military, a child was also wounded and is now recovering in
hospital.
 |
| Marla Ruzicta,
member of the Global Exchange group gestures during a news
conference called by the U.S. Human Rights group outside the
U.S. Embassy, February. |
Reports
from the area have suggested that many Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters
who have gathered there have taken their families with them, but
this is the first mention by the United States of possible civilian
casualties.
The
U.S. Department of Defense has consistently refused to disclose
specific numbers of casualties among the Al-Qaeda and Taliban in
Operation Anaconda.
Earlier
Tuesday, March 12, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said she had
no information indicating that women or children might have died in
the operation.
Asked
why the incident was not publicized earlier, Colonel Compton said
American military officials needed time to piece together the
information before disclosing the incident.
Meanwhile,
U.S. military officials announced that U.S.-led forces have captured
a key valley in eastern Afghanistan and are now scouring mountain
caves for any remaining Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
"In
the past 24 hours our Afghan allies ... have seized the objective
area, the ridgeline known as the 'whale' ... and the whole
Shah-e-Kot Valley," said Major Bryan Hilferty, spokesman for
the 10th Mountain Division.
U.S.-led
forces have captured less than 20 fighters in Operation Anaconda -
the offensive which began March 1, the spokesman said.
The
number of remaining fighters in the area, some 30 kilometers (20
miles) south of Gardez, was "in the range of 100".
U.S.
B-1 bombers pounded Al-Qaeda and Taliban positions on the ridgeline
early Wednesday, March 13.
The
latest push against the fighters was led by Afghan commanders
General Zia Lodin and Gul Haider.
"It's
a great step, it was a major move. The major fighting is over,"
said Major Hilferty.
The
U.S. report of major gains comes a day after Gul Haider said his
forces had captured a main cave complex and seen several bodies
inside. He said his soldiers would continue their advance carefully
because of the threat of land mines and booby-traps.
Eight
U.S. soldiers and at least three Afghan allies have been killed in
Operation Anaconda, while the U.S. puts Afghan losses in the
hundreds. U.S. troops entered the Shah-e-Kot Valley without meeting
any resistance, news agencies reported.
The
human rights group Global Exchange announced in February it was
launching a survey into the number of civilians affected by the
U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan in the hope of obtaining
compensation from the U.S. government for Afghan victims.
