jetdawgg
06-14-07, 09:29 AM
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Mistaking each other for the enemy, Afghan police fired four dozen grenades, and U.S.-led coalition troops fought back with helicopter gunships in a fierce early-morning battle that left eight of the Afghans dead, officials said.
The deadly lapse in communication on Tuesday underscored the wide gaps -- and apparent mistrust -- between U.S. and Afghan security forces. President Hamid Karzai's office labeled the deaths "a tragic incident" caused by a lack of cooperation and communication.
U.S. officials have said they are wary of telling Afghan forces about nighttime raids by U.S. Special Forces, the kind of operation apparently being conducted early Tuesday, out of fear the target might be tipped off.
The U.S.-led coalition said a joint coalition-Afghan force on a mission early Tuesday against a suspected Taliban safehouse was fired on first and responded with their own weapons, then summoned air support. It said no U.S. casualties were reported.
A presidential spokesman also said police initiated the shooting, but officers at the isolated post on a barren stretch of desert in the eastern province of Nangarhar said U.S. troops fired first.
"The Americans came close to our checkpoint with the lights of their vehicles off," said Esanullah, commander of the roadblock. "We shouted at them to stop, but they didn't, and they opened fire on us." He said eight policemen were killed and four wounded.
Officers at the post fired 49 of their 50 rocket-propelled grenades and called for assistance from reserve police during the three-hour firefight, said Esanullah, who goes by one name.
Karzai's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, said the incident underscored why the president has repeatedly called for increased cooperation between Afghan and international troops, which would help solve the problem of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Nighttime raids by U.S. Special Forces in particular have been criticized for causing civilian casualties.
"The police forces were not aware of the coalition's operation," Rahimi said. "The police checkpoint in the area thought that they were the enemy, so police opened fire on the coalition, and then the coalition thought that the enemies were firing on them, so they returned fire back."
Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman, said the troops were ambushed by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from two sides Tuesday while on the way to conduct an operation against the suspected Taliban safehouse.
The coalition said in a statement, "The individuals who fired on coalition forces were not in uniform."
"Prior to the onset of the mission, coalition forces coordinated with officials to ensure no conflicting operations were occurring in that area," the coalition said, without specifying if Afghan police had been informed.
Mistaken killings by international troops has been an ongoing problem in Afghanistan.
NATO officials have said they are working on ways to increase involvement of Afghan troops on missions so to cut down on mistaken killings. But those mechanisms apparently are not in place yet.
The eight police deaths in Nangarhar occurred in the same province where U.S. Marines in March killed 19 civilians and wounded 50 while speeding away from the site of a suicide bomb attack.
A U.S. military commander later determined that the Marines used excessive force.
Violence has spiked in Afghanistan in recent weeks. More than 2,300 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on U.S., NATO and Afghan figures.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/12/afghanistan.ap/index.html
The deadly lapse in communication on Tuesday underscored the wide gaps -- and apparent mistrust -- between U.S. and Afghan security forces. President Hamid Karzai's office labeled the deaths "a tragic incident" caused by a lack of cooperation and communication.
U.S. officials have said they are wary of telling Afghan forces about nighttime raids by U.S. Special Forces, the kind of operation apparently being conducted early Tuesday, out of fear the target might be tipped off.
The U.S.-led coalition said a joint coalition-Afghan force on a mission early Tuesday against a suspected Taliban safehouse was fired on first and responded with their own weapons, then summoned air support. It said no U.S. casualties were reported.
A presidential spokesman also said police initiated the shooting, but officers at the isolated post on a barren stretch of desert in the eastern province of Nangarhar said U.S. troops fired first.
"The Americans came close to our checkpoint with the lights of their vehicles off," said Esanullah, commander of the roadblock. "We shouted at them to stop, but they didn't, and they opened fire on us." He said eight policemen were killed and four wounded.
Officers at the post fired 49 of their 50 rocket-propelled grenades and called for assistance from reserve police during the three-hour firefight, said Esanullah, who goes by one name.
Karzai's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, said the incident underscored why the president has repeatedly called for increased cooperation between Afghan and international troops, which would help solve the problem of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Nighttime raids by U.S. Special Forces in particular have been criticized for causing civilian casualties.
"The police forces were not aware of the coalition's operation," Rahimi said. "The police checkpoint in the area thought that they were the enemy, so police opened fire on the coalition, and then the coalition thought that the enemies were firing on them, so they returned fire back."
Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman, said the troops were ambushed by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from two sides Tuesday while on the way to conduct an operation against the suspected Taliban safehouse.
The coalition said in a statement, "The individuals who fired on coalition forces were not in uniform."
"Prior to the onset of the mission, coalition forces coordinated with officials to ensure no conflicting operations were occurring in that area," the coalition said, without specifying if Afghan police had been informed.
Mistaken killings by international troops has been an ongoing problem in Afghanistan.
NATO officials have said they are working on ways to increase involvement of Afghan troops on missions so to cut down on mistaken killings. But those mechanisms apparently are not in place yet.
The eight police deaths in Nangarhar occurred in the same province where U.S. Marines in March killed 19 civilians and wounded 50 while speeding away from the site of a suicide bomb attack.
A U.S. military commander later determined that the Marines used excessive force.
Violence has spiked in Afghanistan in recent weeks. More than 2,300 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on U.S., NATO and Afghan figures.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/12/afghanistan.ap/index.html