US-Afghan probe: Civilians killed in battle, but Taliban forced Afghans into houses

September 30th, 2009 12 Afghan civilians killed in roadside bomb blastKABUL — A roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan has killed 12 civilians. Police chief Bismullah Khan says a civilian bus hit a bomb in Kandahar province's Maiwand district Tuesday morning, killing the 12 civilians and wounding another 15.

September 23rd, 2009 Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan civiliansKABUL — Five Afghan civilians died when their van struck a roadside bomb in western Farah province, a police official said Wednesday. The private van was heading toward neighboring Ghor province on Tuesday when it hit the bomb, which also wounded eight others, said Raouf Ahmadi, a police spokesman for the western region.

September 11th, 2009 KABUL - The commission appointed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to investigate last week's NATO airstrike on two fuel tankers that claimed dozens of Taliban and civilian lives has exonerated the German Army, which ordered the strike, a German television station reported Friday. Civilians were indeed among the victims, but responsibility for the incident lies with the Taliban, ARD television reported, citing investigators in the commission.

August 29th, 2009 Attack on American patrol kills 2 AfghansKABUL — Officials say two Afghan civilians were killed and 21 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a group of American troops. U.S. military spokeswoman Lt.

June 23rd, 2009 Analysis: Bombing rule may help protect civiliansWASHINGTON — Stricter new rules for combat and bombing raids in Afghanistan may well complicate the battlefield for American forces, but officials say the changes are crucial to reducing civilian deaths that have been undermining the war effort. Analysts say they don't expect the new guidelines to immediately translate to more peril for ground troops that depend on air support in battle, but if some combat encounters under the new rules lead to more dangers, the risk is worth the effort if it builds more Afghan support for the war.

June 20th, 2009 Afghan gov't welcomes US admission of errorKABUL — Afghanistan's government welcomed Saturday a U.S. report accepting blame for a bombing run that killed dozens of villagers, saying it confirmed that international military forces were not doing enough to safeguard civilians.

June 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pentagon investigation into a US airstrike in Afghanistan last month that killed scores of civilians has concluded there were "problems" with how the attack was carried out, a spokesman has said. US Central Command is expected to soon release the report of the May 4 incident in Afghanistan's Farah province.

May 31st, 2009 18 Taliban killed in western Afghanistan fightingKABUL — Afghan and NATO troops killed 18 Taliban militants Sunday after insurgents attacked a joint patrol, while four police were killed in a separate militant ambush, Afghan officials said. Militants attacked the troops in the western province of Farah, the site of a major battle with numerous civilian casualties in early May.

May 16th, 2009 KABUL - The Afghan government Saturday said that its probe found 140 civilians were killed in a US airstrike in western Afghanistan, and confirmed that no chemicals were used during the battle by either sides of the conflict. The May 3 attack was the deadliest incident involving civilian fatalities since the ouster of the Taliban regime by a US military invasion in late 2001.

May 11th, 2009 Afghan group: Taliban may have used burning agentKABUL — An Afghan human rights group said Monday that government officials suspect Taliban fighters attacked villagers sheltering from a U.S.-Taliban battle with flammable material or weapons, causing severe burns. Afghan doctors are treating 16 patients with severe burns suffered in a May 4 battle in Farah province that President Hamid Karzai has said killed up to 130 civilians.

May 9th, 2009 US-Afghan probe confirms civilian deaths in battleKABUL — A joint U.S.-Afghan investigation confirmed that an unspecified number of civilians died in a southern Afghan battle local officials say killed dozens of villagers, but the initial findings released Saturday appeared to blame Taliban militants who used locals as "human shields." Heavy fighting took place in two villages in Farah province over several hours Monday and Tuesday, a joint statement said. It said U.S.

May 9th, 2009 US report blames Taliban for civilian deathsKABUL — The U.S. coalition blamed Taliban militants Saturday for causing what Afghan officials say are dozens of civilian deaths during a prolonged battle that included American airstrikes.

May 6th, 2009 US commander: Taliban beheading led to air strikesKABUL — Amid a U.S. apology for civilian deaths in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S.

May 5th, 2009 Afghans allege dozens of civilian deathsKABUL — Afghan officials alleged Tuesday that dozens of civilians had died in bombing runs by U.S.-led coalition aircraft during fighting in a Taliban-controlled region of western Afghanistan. Two Afghan officials, one of whom said he was in the village and had seen many bodies, said children, women and elderly men had gathered in an Afghan home for safety after fighting broke out between militants and Afghan forces and U.S.

May 5th, 2009 Afghan official sees 30 bodies killed in airstrikeKABUL — An Afghan official says villagers in southern Afghanistan brought approximately 30 mutilated bodies to a provincial capital to show that women and children had been killed by coalition airstrikes. Abdul Basir Khan, a provincial council member in Farah province, says villagers were shouting and crying in front of the governor's office.