Military Says 6 Children Died in U.S. Raid in Afghanistan

By CARLOTTA GALL

New York Times

Published: December 10, 2003

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 10 — The United States military acknowledged today that six more children have been killed in a bombing raid in operations against suspected Taliban members in eastern Afghanistan.

The children and two adults were killed in an attack on Friday night when United States special forces raided the compound of a known militant.

It is the second time in a week that the United States has admitted killing children in airstrikes in Afghanistan.

Although aware of the children's deaths on Saturday, the military did not acknowledge them until Wednesday when a journalist raised the question at a news conference in Kabul, where a constitutional council is convening this weekend.

The United Nations and the office of President Hamid Karzai expressed renewed concerns about the negative impact such incidents will have on the population. The United States ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have both expressed their regrets for the deaths of the nine children Saturday and promised humanitarian assistance for the village.

The attack on Friday was aimed at a heavily armed compound of a known militant, Mullah Jilani, just outside the town of Gardez, 60 miles south of Kabul. Mullah Jilani is is suspected of having links to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the mujahadeen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is also on the United States list of wanted terrorists.

The American special forces mounting the assault encountered gunfire that erupted from the compound and called in airstrikes.

"We were conducting a night assault on the compound," a military spokesman, Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, told journalists at a press briefing in Kabul. "We observed a heavy machine gun firing from a compound that we had no indication there were non-combatants in. We fired on the compound from the air and the machine gun stopped."

The next morning American troops searched the compound and found the bodies of six children and two adults under a collapsed wall.

"We don't know what caused the collapse of the wall because although we fired on the compound there were secondary and tertiary explosions inside the compound," he said. He did not identify the two adults who died but said that Mullah Jilani was not found.

Nine suspected militants were captured in the raid and troops also found dozens of weapons, including artillery pieces, machine guns and rockets. The military released photographs of the large cache of weapons that were recovered.

The spokesman said United States rules of engagement were stringent, shown by the fact they had not fired on 10 people seen leaving the compound, because they could not be identified as combatants.

"We try very hard not to kill anyone," he said. "We would prefer to capture the terrorists rather than kill them. But in this incident, if noncombatants surround themselves with thousands of weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and howitzers and mortars in a compound known to be used by a terrorist we are not completely responsible for the consequences."

Asadullah Wafa, the governor of Paktia province where the raid happened, confirmed the deaths of the children in a telephone interview from Gardez. He said they were the family of an associate of Mullah Jilani who were living in the compound.

Presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi said he had no independent confirmation of the incident but expressed deep concern at the news. "It is a very serious issue for the government," he said. President Karzai had ordered a government delegation headed by two ministers to investigate the scene of Saturday's airstrike, a sign of his profound concern about the consequences of such civilian casualties, he said.

Hundreds of delegates have been arriving here this week for the constitutional grand council, which is convening to approve a new constitution for the country. American and Afghan officials say they have received specific intelligence that the Taliban and Mr. Hekmatyar intend to disrupt the proceedings in some way.

In an effort to preempt any serious attacks, American forces launched Operation Avalanche, their biggest combat operation across the country to throw the Taliban and other groups on the defensive. Some 2,000 troops have been deployed across the south, south-east and east of the country on different tasks. Both airstrikes on the children were part of ongoing operations.

A United Nations spokesman, Manoel de Almeida e Silva, expressed "regret and concern" at the latest incident.

"In addition to contributing to a sense of fear and security these kinds of incidents make it easier for those who wish to spoil the peace process to rally support," he said.