Airstrikes kill dozens at wedding: Afghan villagers

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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CTV.ca | Airstrikes kill dozens at wedding: Afghan villagers

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- There are accusations that U.S. airstrikes struck a wedding party in southern Afghanistan Monday - killing scores of women and children and sending the bride and groom to hospital.

"When the fighting started the jets came and bombed," said Juma Khan, who helped bring his mother and nine other women and children to Kandahar's Mirwais Hospital.

Mohammad Nabi Khan lost two of his sons, ages 4 and 11, and his wife's brother was also listed among the dead.

"There's a lot of casualties," he said. "Most of them were women and children. Many are still buried under the rubble of homes."

"What kind of security are the foreign troops providing in Afghanistan?" he asked.

The governor of Kandahar province confirmed 90 people had died in the attack with another 30 injured.

"It was a mistake - they hit the wedding party and thought it was the Taliban," Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi told a late afternoon news conference.

The alleged airstrikes in the Shah Wali Kot district come only three months after the Afghan government found that a U.S. operation had killed some 90 civilians in western Afghanistan. A U.S. report said 33 civilians died in that attack.

A Taliban spokesman claimed that the airstrike had killed only one of its members and the rest of the victims were local villagers.

Canadian ground troops also operate in the region but a Canadian Forces spokesman could not say if they were involved.

President Hamid Karzai referred to the incident at a news conference held to congratulate Barack Obama on his U.S. presidential election victory.

Karzai said his first demand for the new president was to prevent civilian casualties in operations by foreign forces. He then said airstrikes had caused deaths in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.

"As we speak, there are civilian casualties in Afghanistan," Karzai said.

U.S. Forces in Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Interior issued a news release Wednesday to announce an investigation into the incident.

"The coalition and Afghan authorities are investigating reports of non-combatant casualties in the village of Wech Baghtu," said Cmdr. Jeff Bender, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Forces Afghanistan. "Though facts are unclear at this point, we take very seriously our responsibility to protect the people of Afghanistan and to avoid circumstances where noncombatant civilians are placed at risk."

"If innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologize and express our condolences to the families and the people of Afghanistan," he said.

Military personnel have been dispatched to the area to begin the investigation.

Oh gee.... sorry will killed all those people at a wedding, our bad..... here's a goat. :angry3:
 

EagleSmack

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Feb 16, 2005
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We hit ANOTHER wedding! We always seem to strike Afghan weddings. :roll:

The first order of business for Obama should be to lay off airstrikes on Afghan weddings because we seem to hit an awful lot of them.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
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We hit ANOTHER wedding! We always seem to strike Afghan weddings. :roll:

The first order of business for Obama should be to lay off airstrikes on Afghan weddings because we seem to hit an awful lot of them.


Wow, that just drips with you don't give a crap.:roll:
 

gerryh

Time Out
Nov 21, 2004
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of course he doesn't give a crap.....they aren't american civilian's dying.... now if there was a retaliatory attack on american soil where cilvilians died...THEN he'd give a crap.
 

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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I KNOW! It is almost MIRACULOUS that we KEEP HITTING weddings!

Well see, I was thinking it must have something to do with all the colors, shouts of happiness and movement in one area that attracts the vision of a pilot loaded up on amphetamines and think "That isn't right, this is a war zone, nobody should be happy, they must be Taliban trying to trick us.... let me take care of that...." and bombs the hell out of them.

Cuz the Taliban are known to dawn bright colored clothing in the middle of a desert and collect all in one open area to dance in circles for the US to bomb them into oblivion.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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nothing unusual for an air jockey....just dump the ordinance and who cares where it lands. Not like they actually SEE who they are murdering.

To be fair, this war would be a lot easier if the Taliban wore uniforms. Wedding parties often have guys celebrating by firing guns in the air. To a pilot in an F-18, that can be read as a threat and it can be a threat. I've read about the Taliban having a few 303s with API ammo. One round in the right place could bring down an F-18.
 

Risus

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May 24, 2006
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We hit ANOTHER wedding! We always seem to strike Afghan weddings. :roll:

The first order of business for Obama should be to lay off airstrikes on Afghan weddings because we seem to hit an awful lot of them.
Hey you arrogant a-hole, its nothing to joke about. Your military is worse than the keystone cops. What a jerk.
 

EagleSmack

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Feb 16, 2005
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Hey you arrogant a-hole, its nothing to joke about. Your military is worse than the keystone cops. What a jerk.

Take this for example...now I think YOU are a jerk.

Keystone Cops...blah blah.

Ok...want arrogance... stop having weddings and they won't get bombed. Have at that! Now that's arrogance.
 

Scott Free

House Member
May 9, 2007
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****ing disgusting!! The USA has become a monster. Maybe Obama can turn them around but I won't be holding my breath.
 

Risus

Genius
May 24, 2006
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Take this for example...now I think YOU are a jerk.

Keystone Cops...blah blah.

Ok...want arrogance... stop having weddings and they won't get bombed. Have at that! Now that's arrogance.

you are an idiot, a-hole, arrogant and a jerk as well... in other words a typical yankee....
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
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you are an idiot, a-hole, arrogant and a jerk as well... in other words a typical yankee....

Yipppeee KI AAAAA! HI OOOO SIlveeer!

You wanted to see an arrogant American...well there you go.

Amazing how we ALWAYS seem to bomb weddings.
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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So you condone this yankee BS?????????????????

What Yankee BS? You obviously hate Americans and it shows in your posts. Criticizing their military is one thing but you sound like one of these idiotic, stereotypical, high and mighty, preachy Canadians which ranks up there with preachy republicans.

You realize Canadians have "gasp" killed civilians during wars as well? It's unfortunate but it happens.