Infant among Afghans wounded by US patrols
By Kamal Sadat
04/18/06 KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters)
- U.S.-led troops in
southeastern Afghanistan wounded a new born baby girl, her
mother, a five-year-old boy and three other Afghans, when they
opened fire on cars that had ignored instructions to stop,
police and residents said on Tuesday.
The mother was hit in the chest and two women relatives were
also struck by bullets, while the baby -- who was born just
hours earlier -- was cut on the face and hands by shattered
glass.
The child's grandfather, Abdul Wakil, was unhurt and described
how their car had passed a military convoy in Yaqoobi district
on Tuesday night and turned onto a small road leading home when
the firing opened up.
"They started firing, the car's tires were punctured and the
soldiers came out and spoke to us through a translator. We told
them that they destroyed our lives and they rushed off without
saying anything," Wakil told Reuters.
The U.S. military in Kabul could not be reached for immediate
comment.
Two more Afghans, a five-year-old boy and another youngster were
wounded by U.S.-led troops in another part of Khost on Tuesday
morning, police said.
Provincial police chief Mohammad Ayoub said in both cases the
cars had been told to stop by the soldiers.
The victims of Monday night's shooting were being treated in a
hospital at Khost town, while the two wounded on Tuesday morning
were taken to a U.S.-led military medical facility, residents
said.
Military convoys in the south and east mark their convoys
usually bear a warning, written in local languages, that
"Overtaking is forbidden."
But most Afghans in rural areas are illiterate.
Attacks by Taliban fighters and their Islamist militant allies
on both Afghan and U.S.-led forces have increased in recent
weeks.
On Monday, U.S.-led forces killed five Taliban guerrillas in
eastern Kunar province, according to the military.
Just a few days earlier at least seven civilians were killed in
Kunar during a U.S.-led operation against the Taliban.
The Taliban and its allies have run an insurgency ever since
their government was ousted by U.S.-backed forces in late 2001.
© 2006 Reuters
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