Afghan Investigators Refute US Death Count From Air Strike

[Purveyor]

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP)--Afghan investigators rejected Thursday a U.S. military finding that 33 civilians were killed in air strikes on a village in August, standing by their conclusion that 90 had died.

A U.S. military review released Wednesday increased the force's original toll of five to seven civilians killed in Shindand in western Afghanistan to at least 33 civilians, including a dozen children.

"This is totally wrong," parliamentarian Mohammad Iqbal Safi, part of an investigation team appointed by President Hamid Karzai, told AFP.

"We investigated that incident and found that 90 people - all civilians - were martyred. We stand by it, we have evidence to prove our claims," he said.

Humayun Azizi, head of Herat provincial council who also took part in the investigations, echoed the dismissal.

"I don't know how they conducted their investigation - it's absolutely wrong," he said.

The Afghan toll, endorsed by a U.N. investigation, makes it one of the worst incidents of civilian killing by foreign soldiers since they invaded to oust the Taliban regime in 2001, remaining to fight a rebel insurgency.

AFP: http://tinyurl.com/3lzboo