Nine Civilians, Six Of Them Children, Killed By US Coalition In Afghanistan
Coalition officials in Afghanistan are promising an investigation
after troops were sent to Helmand Province to detonate a arsenal of
weapons belonging to the Taliban. The ensuing explosion badly damaged
nearby homes, and killed at least nine civilians, six of them children.
Details of how this could’ve happened are still unclear, and Afghan officials had initially claimed it
was there own commandos who had detonated the cache of weapons, though
later this was revised to be members of the US-led coalition,
nationality undisclosed.
Either way, there are serious questions to be answered about
controlled demolitions of munitions taking place in the middle of a
populated area, and with no apparent care taken to evacuate the
civilians before the detonation happened.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of Combined Joint
Task Force 10 and Regional Command East, speaks with Service members
during a visit to Baraki Barak, Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 25,
2014. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Kap Kim/Released)
