A 'number of civilians' killed in Afghan clashes

A US and Afghan investigation confirmed yesterday that "a number of civilians" were killed in clashes with Taliban this week although President Hamid Karzai charged that 130 died in US air strikes.

In its first statement after the battle in the southern province of Farah on Monday and Tuesday, the joint investigation team said it was unable to give firmer figures because all the dead had been buried, some in mass graves.

The statement also did not make clear if the dead were killed in air strikes or ground fighting centred on two villages in the district of Bala Buluk.

"The joint investigation team confirms that a number of civilians were killed in the course of the fighting..." it said.

However, it "is unable to determine with certainty which of those casualties were Taliban fighters and which were non-combatants because those killed are all buried", it said.

The US military and Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) team was still investigating the complex series of attacks, it said.

The incident started when Taliban fighters, including non-Afghans, had gone to the villages of Ganj Abad and Grani and demanded money from locals.

Militants also attacked police checkpoints, inflicting some casualties. The provincial government called for help from Afghan and coalition forces, it said.

As heavy fighting continued for several hours, coalition troops called for close air support against their attackers.

"Reports also indicate that Taliban fighters deliberately forced villagers into houses from which they then attacked ANSF and coalition forces," the statement said, condemning the use of civilians as 'human shields'.

Claims over the numbers of non-combatants killed have differed wildly, with some reports of up to 167 and Pentagon officials estimating a maximum of 50.

The US military in Kabul has said more than 25 Taliban were killed but described figures issued for the civilian toll as "grossly exaggerated", including one from Afghan police of at least 70.

Karzai, on a visit to Washington, told CNN his government's information was that nearly 125 to 130 civilians were killed, including women and children.

"Airstrikes are not acceptable," he said.

In video footage obtained by AFP from an Afghan journalist who went to Granai, a villager says the strikes hit compounds where several women and children gathered to take refuge from the fighting.

"The bombing started at 9/10 p.m. when there was no Taliban at all," says the man, who gives his name as Mohammad Naiem.

He accused the provincial authorities of acting against his community because of "prejudice", which he did not explain.

The footage shows men collecting body parts, one of them holding up a hand and saying, "Look at the nails, it is a woman's hand."

UN officials dismissed suggestions from the US military that the Taliban may have caused some of the casualties by throwing grenades at villagers.

"It is becoming clear that the large number of civilian casualties were caused by the air strikes and not by fighting on the ground or by Taliban insurgents themselves," an official said on condition of anonymity.

The UN had no toll but was using a "rough working figure of anywhere up to 167", he said, adding there were "serious concerns" about the independence of the joint Afghan and US investigation.

Human Rights Watch described the incident as "horrific".

"This attack is likely to be the largest and most tragic loss of life to US bombs so far in Afghanistan," researcher Rachel Reid said.

"Yet another devastating error inevitably calls into question the continued viability of the use of US and Nato airpower in Afghanistan."