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48
people, mostly women and children, were killed during the U.S.
raid
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WASHINGTON,
Sept 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A U.S. military
investigation blamed the deaths of women and children in a U.S. raid
in central Afghanistan in June on people on the ground, who allegedly
fired at U.S. aircraft, news agencies reported Saturday, September 07,
2002.
The
investigations, concluded Friday, September 6, said the crew of an
AC-130 gunship acted "properly and in accordance with the
rules" in attacking six sites where U.S. forces observed
anti-aircraft artillery fire during the June 30 raid in the Deh Rawood
district.
"While
the coalition regrets the loss of innocent lives, the responsibility
for that loss rests with those that knowingly directed hostile fire at
coalition forces," an unclassified summary of the report said.
While
the investigation report concluded that U.S. forces came under hostile
anti-aircraft artillery at the start of the raid, no actual weapons
were seen either by the attacking AC-130 or by coalition forces or
investigators after the attack, according to Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
"Just
as the weapon itself is not seen, it is also not possible to determine
if the fires from the AC-130 have damaged or destroyed the
weapon," the report said.
"Consequently,
personnel at the weapon's location were the primary targets." it
said. "Unfortunately, it is also not possible to distinguish men
from women or adults from children."
"The
dead and wounded later observed by coalition forces were mostly women
and children," the report said.
The
Afghan officials and survivors of the incident say the only gunfire
from the area came from the guests who fired their rifles in
celebration, according to BBC’s online news service.
As
many as 48 people were killed during the nighttime raid, codenamed
Operation Full Throttle.
The
U.S. investigators said they were only able to confirm 34 dead and
about 50 wounded, most of them at two compounds that were struck by an
AC-130 gunship responding to anti-aircraft artillery fire.
The
investigation was launched by the U.S. Central Command amid an uproar
in Afghanistan and charges that a wedding party came under attack when
traditional celebratory gunfire was mistaken for hostile fire.
According
to the final report, one compound was searched two to four hours after
it was attacked by the AC-130 gunship.
The
search turned up bloodstains and damage from the impact of AC-130
weapons but no anti-aircraft artillery weapon and no shell casings
were found, it said.
At
a second compound struck by the AC-130, coalition forces set up a
checkpoint through which 20 injured people - all but two of them women
and children - were taken to local medical facilities.
When
investigators visited the two compounds on July 3-4 and on July 24
they, found no anti-aircraft weapons or shell casings at either site,
the report said.
"In
the period immediately following the incident, villagers elders
admitted to coalition forces that people within the village regularly
fired at aircraft using AK-47s, RPK's (squad machine guns), and DShK's
(Heavy machine gun) but not with a weapon larger than 23mm," it
said.
"In
fact, village elders acknowledged holding a local Shura (town meeting)
the day prior to the incident to discuss firing weapons into the air
during weddings and firing at aircraft," it said.
"Also,
two freshly completed drawings on the walls of the local
pharmacy/hospital depicted people firing at helicopters and fixed wing
aircraft," the report said.
The
report said coalition aircraft had regularly been targeted by hostile
fire in the area and covert reconnaissance inserted two weeks before
the raid reported gunfire from various caliber weapons, including
mortars and anti-aircraft artillery fire.
Several
compounds in the area were positively identified as the source of the
anti-aircraft artillery fire, it said.
As
the raid began, anti-aircraft artillery was fired from some of the
compounds, posing a threat to inbound coalition forces and making them
valid targets, the report said.
"As
a result, an AC-130 aircraft, acting properly and in accordance with
the rules, engaged the locations of those weapons," it said.
The
AC-130 attacked six sites in all during the raid, but villagers told
investigators that all the dead and wounded were at the two sites they
visited, which were on the east side of the Hellman River.
They
did not visit the other four sites.
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