New civilian deaths raise Afghanistan tension

Public anger is running high over alleged civilian deaths in air strikes by Western forces, and tension increased on Oct. 17 as Afghan authorities said at least 17 civilians had been killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan. The NATO-led force said in a statement it was investigating the reports, but that there was no evidence so far that any noncombatants had been killed in clashes over the previous two days in Helmand province. Western military officials confirmed, however, that an air strike had been carried out in the area. Details about the reported deaths were emerging slowly - a common pattern in remote areas with poor communications, where many of the daily confrontations between insurgents and Western forces take place. In Helmand province, local officials said the civilian deaths occurred in an air strike on Oct. 16 in the Nad Ali district, which was overrun briefly last week by Taliban fighters, then retaken by Western forces. Civilian deaths have contributed to the growing unpopularity of President Hamid Karzai's government, even though the Afghan leader has pleaded publicly with Western troops to take greater care to avoid killing and injuring civilians. The circumstances surrounding the latest reported civilian deaths were murky. Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Helmand governor's office, said the bodies of 17 civilians, including women and children, were recovered from the rubble of a walled compound. Ahmadi said, however, that it had not been established whether a Western air strike or "insurgent action" had destroyed the compound. The next day, villagers from Nad Ali made the arduous six-mile trek to the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, bringing more than a dozen bodies to the governor's home in protest. Civilian casualties have been an issue in the seven years since a U.S.-led force invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban. But anger flared over the summer when Afghan authorities and human rights groups, backed by the United Nations, said nearly 90 people had been killed in a U.S. air strike in Herat province. U.S. officials have acknowledged since that more than 30 civilians were killed in the Aug. 22 strike in Herat's Shindand district, but have not accepted the higher estimate put forth by Afghan authorities.