Afghan Battles See Higher Toll for Civilians

A kind reminder that conditions in Afghanistan are deteriorating just like Iraq. And with worsening conditions, soldiers are going to be much more afraid and trigger-happy, leading to many more civilian deaths.

Afghanistan – More than 20 Afghan civilians have been reported killed or wounded in the last three days by Afghan and American security forces as the troops have fought an outbreak of insurgent activity, Afghan officials said Tuesday.

The officials said American soldiers shot up a car on Monday night in Khost, in eastern Afghanistan, wounding three women and a new-born girl returning from a hospital. A man and a 7-year-old boy were wounded Tuesday in a shooting by American soldiers on the edge of Khost, the provincial police chief, Col. Muhammad Ayub, said in a telephone interview.

Two American soldiers were wounded Tuesday by a roadside bomb in Zabul Province, in the south, a military spokesman said. Police and military officials also reported killing five insurgents in Kunar Province, near the Pakistan border.

The Kunar operation had already caused civilian casualties. The United States military has announced an investigation into an airstrike there on Saturday night that killed seven civilians and wounded three. Four of the dead were children, the provincial governor, Asadullah Wafa, said Tuesday by telephone.

American military officials had predicted an increase in violence with the melting of winter snows.

Posted by senssensibilityr
Student of German and Russian culture, history and language, emphasis on post-Dark Age European History. German and Russian 20th century literature. Studying Arabic. Cannot wait to go to Freiburg to study @ Goethe Institut im Februar.