by Jerome Starkey, Kabul


A night-time raid in eastern Afghanistan in which eight schoolboys from one family were killed was carried out on the basis of faulty intelligence and should never have been authorised, a Times investigation has found.


Ten children and teenagers died when troops stormed a remote mountain compound near the border with Pakistan in December.


At the time, Nato claimed that the assault force was targeting a “known insurgent group responsible for a series of violent attacks”. Officials said that the victims were involved in making and smuggling improvised explosive devices. But Western sources close to the case now agree that the victims were all aged 12 to 18 and were not involved in insurgent activity.


Nato sources say that the raid should never have been authorised. “Knowing what we know now, it would probably not have been a justifiable attack,” an official in Kabul told The Times. “We don’t now believe that we busted a major ring.”


When reports of the raid first surfaced eight weeks ago, The Times contacted the police chief in Kunar province and then the boys’ head-master and uncle, Rahman Jan Ehsas.


Two men whose children and other relatives were killed agreed to come to Kabul to describe the incident. They provided pictures of their dead sons, a sketched map of the compound and copies of the compensation claim forms signed by local officials detailing their sons’ names, relatives and positions at school. Their story was supported by Western military sources.


Farooq Abdul Ajan, who lost two sons, two brothers, three nephews and a cousin in the raid, said that the soldiers had had no idea whom they were killing. Afghan investigators, local officials and MPs from the province all maintain that the boys were innocent.


Nato’s statement, issued four days after the event, said that troops were attacked “from several buildings” as they entered the village. Yesterday it said that “ultimately, we did determine this to be a civilian casualty incident”.


Anger is growing over civilian casualties. General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander, has warned that Nato risks “strategic defeat” by causing civilian deaths. The Independent Human Rights Commission said that more than 63 civilians had died in the past two weeks, including 27 killed when US special forces ordered an airstrike on a convoy of minibuses in the central Daikundi province. Nato recently introduced a new tactical directive to limit the use of night raids, the coalition’s chief legal adviser, Colonel Richard Gross, said.


“General McChrystal realised that this was one of the areas where we had to change the way we do business, or else we would not win this war,” he said.


Exactly who carried out the Narang raid is unclear. Colonel Gross said that US forces were present but did not lead the operation. Nato insists that the troops were not part of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). US forces based in Kunar denied any knowledge of the raid.


Senior Western officers have hinted that the “trigger pullers” were Afghan; the Afghan Defence Ministry said its troops were not involved. Mohammed Afzal, Narang’s district police chief, insisted that US special forces were involved. Assadullah Wafa, who led an Afghan investigation into the incident, said that relatives would get $2,000 compensation for each person killed. Very kind of NATO, isn't it?


Views: 302

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a photo
2 hours ago
tjdavis posted a blog post
2 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Riefenstahl - Official Trailer

A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will" but kept denyi...
3 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Price of Becoming Wise

The answers you seek are not hereLet me make that perfectly clearNow that she is no longer…See More
9 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post One of Many Witnesses to the JFK Assassination Not Listed in the Warren Report
"tjdavis Thanks for your support! "
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
tjdavis favorited Doc Vega's blog post One of Many Witnesses to the JFK Assassination Not Listed in the Warren Report
Friday
Burbia commented on KLC's group MUSICWARS
Thursday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Unnerving Frequency of Disappearances on the Appalachian Trail Pt. 1

There’s another one of the cluster zones of missing persons reports that fails to render the…See More
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Waste runs deep

"Make USAID - go away."
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

$ Paid Annual Leave $

"Now is the Time for American Workers to Unite! Take back the squandered taxes and demand time off…"
Monday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Monday
Burbia commented on Burbia's blog post Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.
Monday
Burbia posted a blog post

Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.

I guess releasing this bio-weapon upon Israeli neighbors would be hitting too close to home. I…See More
Monday
tjdavis posted videos
Monday
tjdavis posted a video

The Electric State | Final Trailer | Netflix

Together, robots & humans can take the whole system down. THE ELECTRIC STATE starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt and directed by the Russo Brothers, onl...
Mar 29
Less Prone favorited Sandy's video
Mar 29
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Mar 29
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Mar 29

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted