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Flashback: NATO’s novel battle tactic spawns opposite effects as 12 civilians killed | German army chief resigns over Afghanistan air strike | NATO pledges probe of deadly Afghan air strike; civilians killed | Afghan Airstrike Video Goes Down the Memory Hole | New Afghan mission commander vows to protect civilians | US air strikes kill dozens of Afghan civilians | NATO denies air strike killed Afghan civilians

James Meikle, Declan Walsh, Stephen Bates, The Guardian
February 15, 2010

A Nato airstrike against suspected insurgents has killed five civilians in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan today.

A Nato statement said a joint patrol of Nato and Afghan troops saw individuals digging along a path in the Zhari district of Kandahar province today and mistakenly concluded that they were planting an improvised explosive device. Two civilians were also wounded in the strike.

The incident follows the deaths yesterday of 12 Afghan civilians, who were killed by two stray Nato rockets in neighbouring Helmand province.

Major General Michael Regner, Isaf’s joint command deputy chief of staff for joint operations, said: “We regret this tragic accident and offer our sympathies to the families of those killed and injured.

“Our combined forces take every precaution to minimise civilian casualties, and we will investigate this incident to determine how this happened.”

Earlier today, the head of Britain’s armed forces admitted that the killing of 12 Afghan civilians yesterday was “a very serious setback” to military operations against the Taliban.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said the incident had damaged efforts to win the support of local communities, but added that accidents were inevitable during conflict.

The civilians died when two rockets from a high mobility artillery rocket system hit a house on the outskirts of the town of Marjah, in an area of Helmand province being targeted by a joint US and Afghan force.

Stirrup, the chief of the defence staff, said: “It is a very serious setback. It is not one which can’t be overcome and of course the Afghans themselves, the local government, play a key role in this and they have already swung into action in that regard. But we are there to provide security for the population.”

He told the BBC Today programme: “This operation … is not about battling the Taliban, it is about protecting the local population, and you don’t protect them when you kill them. It is always damaging, but of course in any conflict situation accidents happen and we must remember that most of the civilian casualties are not caused by Isaf [the international security assistance force] — they are caused by the Taliban.”

He said it was crucial that people “perceive the Afghan national security forces as protecting them, as providing them with security, and therefore we have to do all we can to eliminate civilian casualties”.

The defence minister, Bill Rammell, expressed regret over the incident, as did the Nato commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who has suspended use of the missile system involved in the mistake.

Speaking on GMTV, Rammell said: “I regret the loss of a British soldier but also the loss of civilian lives. This incident involved American troops. General McChrystal has rightly suspended the use of this particular rocket system pending an investigation, because we are determined to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties to win the hearts and minds of the local population.”

The Afghan interior minister, Mohammad Atmar, said nine civilians and two or three insurgents were among those killed, suggesting insurgents may have been firing at troops from a civilian compound. “The reality is this … the enemy did capture some civilians in their house and they were firing at our forces from this house. Unfortunately our forces didn’t know that civilians were living in that house,” he said at a press conference at Lashkar Gah.

Snipers have been holding up attempts to clear the town of Taliban fighters, the US marines said.

The civilian deaths in the last 24 hours have overshadowed reports of early successes against the Taliban in Operation Moshtarak — the biggest offensive undertaken by western and Afghan forces in the nine-year war.

The operation involves 15,000 troops, mostly US, British and Afghan. The first US marines arrived in Marjah — a major hub of insurgents and drug smugglers — by helicopter before dawn on Saturday morning, while British forces are sweeping through Nad Ali. One British soldier has been killed in the operation. He was named as Lance Sergeant Dave Greenhalgh, 25, from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

Taliban fighters — estimated at between 400 and 1,000 — have heavily mined the area. The operation’s US commander, Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, predicted it could take 30 days to clear out all militants and explosives, but said he was “cautiously optimistic” the job could be completed sooner.

Nato heavily telegraphed its intention to invade Marjah and Nad Ali, hoping to minimise civilian casualties. The civilian deaths added to tensions with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who ordered an immediate investigation. High rates of casualties help Taliban recruitment in war-torn areas and stir public anger that has eroded support for the fragile Afghan government.

A British soldier from 36 Engineer Regiment died this afternoon as a result of an explosion in Helmand province, the MoD said. Next of kin have been informed. Two more British soldiers also died yesterday. One, from 2nd battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment, was shot in a gun battle in the Musa Qala area of southern Afghanistan, and the other, from 6 Rifles, serving as part of 3 Rifles Battle Group, died in an explosion while on foot patrol to the north-east of Sangin. The deaths were unconnected with Operation Moshtarak.

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