New inquiry into Afghan deaths

The most senior US general in Afghanistan has asked for another inquiry into US-led coalition air strikes that Afghan UN teams said killed 90 civilians, most of them children. The US-led coalition has steadfastly rejected the civilian tolls from the August 22 strikes on the western village of Azizabad, in Shindand district, saying only five to seven civilians were killed along with 30-35 Taliban.

Gen David McKiernan said in a statement late Sunday there was "emerging evidence" about the incident. In light of this, "I feel it is prudent to request that US Central Command send a general officer to review the US investigation and its findings with respect to the new evidence," he said. Gen McKiernan heads the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, which works alongside the coalition, but is the most senior US commander in Afghanistan.

If the toll of 90 is confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest such incidents since the United States led troops into Afghanistan seven years ago to remove the Taliban from government and round up extremist militants. The Afghan government says there is video footage backing up its claim of more than 90 dead which is with its intelligence agency. A Western official also says he has seen footage clearly showing children among the dead. Meanwhile, three suspected militants and two children were killed today in a missile strike by US drones on a Pakistan tribal town near the Afghan border, security and local officials said. The strike left 11 dead. The use of air strikes has come under criticism by human rights groups. A report released by Human Rights Watch today said civilian deaths from international air strikes in Afghanistan nearly tripled between 2006 and 2007 with new deadly strikes fuelling a public backlash. Insurgents were also guilty of causing civilian deaths by using ordinary people as "human shields" against troops, including by deploying into villages, the New York-based rights group said in a report. Human Rights Watch said that in 2006 at least 699 Afghan civilians were killed in militant attacks, including suicide bombings, and at least 230 in international military action, about half in air strikes. In 2007, at least 950 died in attacks by insurgent forces, including the Taliban and al Qa'eda, and at least 321 in air strikes.

* AFP