U.S. military denies abducting, killing civilians in Afghan province

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/25/184082/us-military-denies-abducting-killing.html

U.S. military denies abducting, killing civilians in Afghan province
By SHASHANK BENGALI | Tribune Washington Bureau
Posted on Monday, February 25, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military has determined that its forces weren't involved in the alleged abduction and killing of civilians in a troubled province in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

"In recent months, a thorough review has confirmed that no coalition forces have been involved in the alleged misconduct in Wardak province," Lt. Col. Les Carroll, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

A day earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused U.S. special forces troops and Afghans working for them of torturing civilians in Wardak, a strategic but violence-wracked province southwest of the capital, Kabul. Karzai ordered the elite U.S. troops to end operations in Wardak and to leave the province within two weeks, dealing a blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in an area rife with Taliban and allied insurgents.

Karzai's office, citing claims by Wardak's governor and tribal elders, alleged that a university student who was detained during a U.S. operation last year was later found with his head and fingers cut off. In another case, Afghan officials accused U.S. forces of detaining nine villagers who are still missing.



unhappycamper comment:

[xchrom]

1. du rec. nt