U.S. soldier fires on Afghan civilians, ISAF says

U.S. soldier fires on Afghan civilians, ISAF saysFrom Sara Sidner, CNNupdated 7:29 AM EDT, Sun March 11, 2012
U.S. soldier detained after shooting
STORY HIGHLIGHTS NEW: The government of Kandahar says 15 people were shotNEW: It's not clear how many of the victims are dead and how many are woundedThe service member turns himself in after the shooting, an ISAF spokesman says Civilian casualties as a result of NATO action have long caused anger in AfghanistanKabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A U.S. service member opened fire on Afghan civilians in Kandahar province Sunday, NATO said, killing or wounding 15 people, according to the provincial government.The Kandahar government did not specify how many of the victims were dead.There has been confusion about the number of casualties since the shooting outside a military base in eastern Afghanistan.A provincial council member, Ahsan Noorzai, said earlier that 18 people were killed, but did not say where his information came from.Capt. Justin Brockhoff with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said there had been "multiple" casualties.He said the shooting took place off base and that the injured Afghans were being treated in ISAF facilities.The Taliban claimed that 50 people had been killed, but the Islamist militia regularly exaggerates casualty figures.They disputed ISAF's version of events, saying several soldiers went on a raid that resulted in dozens of deaths.But Maj. Jason Waggoner, another ISAF spokesman, said: "The civilian casualties were not the result of any operations. The soldier was acting on his own. After the incident he returned to the compound and turned himself in."Brockhoff said officials do not yet have a motive for the shooting, which is under investigation by both NATO and Afghan officials."This is a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our thoughts and concerns to the families involved," a statement from ISAF said.Kandahar has been one of the areas wracked by violence since news emerged late last month that U.S. troops mistakenly burned Qurans and other religious materials.Furor over the burning left dozens dead, including four American troops. Hundreds more were wounded.Civilian casualties as a result of action by the NATO-led international coalition have long caused anger in Afghanistan, adding pressure on international forces to withdraw.The international force has said avoiding civilian casualties is a high priority."My command's mission is to protect the civilian people of Afghanistan," Gen. John R. Allen, ISAF commander, said last month. "I take very seriously the loss of every Afghan life. We will continue to do all we can to ensure the safety of the Afghan population."The number of ISAF-caused civilian deaths decreased by nearly 17% from 2010 to 2011, the coalition force said in its December monthly report.
CNN's Claudia Dominguez and Ruhullah Khapalwak contributed to this report.


Blogger comment:
9/11 is an internal job and Al Qada not smart enough to do it, if they are I would expect them they would have reached their goals without firing a bullet like proving to the American people they have WMD and are not going to use it since a lot can be achieve by politics and negotiations and not wars. Similarly with having not military power you are powerless in international politics. See China was found to America after the cold war to be the second strong power possibly as or more than Russia. Just America had either to face them or naturalize them. They chose the later and coasted them billions of dollars to make China happy. Back to Ben Ladin and Al qada who in large part defending themselves. If Ben Ladin did 9/11 the Taliban was willing to give him if there is evidence. But America as usual love revenge even if misguided and went against Taliban for over 10 years and displaced them. The evil president of America Bush invaded Iraq, states that he is in crusade to free Muslims which is joke his best friend is the most oppressive tyrants of Saudi. It is all business friends of daddy and family business. While a lot of brave Americans lost their lives in his wars he is enjoying his money that the Saudi helped to grow it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=g-vrec&context=G294d9a7RVAAAAAAAABA