Asia

Asia

Afghan election campaign workers ’killed in air strike’

03 September 2010 02:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Ten election campaign workers have been killed in an air strike by Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, officials say, APA reports quoting BBC News.
The governor of the northern province of Takhar, Abduljabar Taqwa, told the BBC that two people were also wounded in the attack in the Rostaq district.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the incident, saying that "pro-democracy people should be distinguished from those who fight against democracy".
A Nato spokesman said a "precision air strike" had hit a militant’s vehicle.
The target was a senior member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) who regularly co-ordinated and conducted attacks with IMU and Taliban insurgents, the International Security Assistance Force said.
"Intelligence tracked the insurgents travelling in a sedan on a series of remote roads in Rostaq district. After careful planning to ensure no civilians were present, coalition aircraft conducted a precision air strike on one sedan and later followed with direct fire from an aerial platform."
"The vehicle was travelling as part of a six-car convoy, but no other vehicles were hit in the strike."
The Isaf statement said "initial reflections" indicated that eight to 12 insurgents were killed or wounded, including a Taliban commander.
"Multiple passengers of the vehicle were positively identified carrying weapons," it added.
’Not effective’
Mr Taqwa told BBC Pashto that the Rostaq district was peaceful and that there was "not a single anti-government member in the area" when the air strike took place.
"Without any co-ordination, without informing provisional authorities, they attacked, on their own, civilian people who were in a campaign convoy."
The governor said Abdulawahid Khorasani, a parliamentary candidate on his way to campaign in Rostaq, was among those hurt.
The district governor of Rostaq, Malim Hussian, told the BBC: "Around 0900 this morning, a convoy of around 100 cars belonging to Mr Khorasani left Khwaja Bahawideen for a village called Kay Wan.
"[A] jet first dropped a bomb. After that there were two helicopters, which fired with heavy machine guns. As a result 10 people were killed, including a local commander called Aminullah," a former member of the Mujahideen who was not a member of the Taliban, he said.
"I want the international forces to use proper channels for intelligence. A Taliban commander or a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan does not travel in a 100-vehicle convoy.’’
President Karzai’s office also strongly condemned the strike.
"Air bombardments in the villages of Afghanistan will only end up killing civilians and will not be effective in the fight against terrorism," it said.
Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces have been a major source of tension between the Afghan government and its allies.
Last September, a US air strike called in by German troops in neighbouring Kunduz province left at least 30 civilians dead.
US Marine Corps Maj Gen David Garza said: "We’re aware of the allegations that this strike caused civilian casualties and we’ll do our best to get to the bottom of the accusations."
He added: "We’re confident this strike hit only the targeted vehicle after days of tracking the occupants’ activity."
The BBC’s Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says Rostaq is one of the province’s most impoverished and remote districts, and the authority of the central government does not extend far into it.
Last week, provincial officials expressed concerns about growing insecurity in Takhar, saying the Taliban and al-Qaeda were trying to destabilise it, our correspondent adds.
No foreign troops are stationed in Takhar. There are, however, currently about 150,000 deployed throughout the rest of the country fighting the Taliban.