U.S. Has New Details On Afghan Casualties

Tag : photographic materials

(CBS/AP) Two videos obtained Monday show several dozen bodies, many of themchildren, lined up on a mosque floor - the apparent aftermath of aU.S.-led operation the Afghan government and U.N. say killed 90civilians.

One video, apparently taken by a cell phone, is grainy and details,including a precise body count, are difficult to make out. Butthere appear to be several dozen bodies, all covered by blankets.

Wailing Afghan women and men occasionally lift the blankets to showdead children or the disfigured faces of men.

A second video shows three young children wrapped in white shrouds.A fourth child has gruesome head wounds.

The two videos, both obtained by The Associated Press, give weightto Afghan and U.N. findings that scores of civilians, including 60children and 15 women, died in the Aug. 22 U.S.-led raid in thevillage of Azizabad. U.S. special forces and Afghan commandoscarried out the operation.

The aftermath of the raid has strained relations between the UnitedStates and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government, underpressure to respond to civilian deaths at the hands of foreignforces operating in the country.

A U.S. investigation found that only seven civilians died, as wellas up to 35 militants. But the U.S. on Sunday said it would reopenthe investigation because of emerging new evidence, an apparentreference to the videos, which have been in the possession ofAfghan intelligence officials and the U.N. but have leaked to mediaoutlets.

"In light of emerging evidence pertaining to civilian casualties inthe August 22 counter-insurgency operation in the ShindandDistrict, Herat province, I feel it is prudent to request that USCentral Command send a general officer to review the USinvestigation and its findings with respect to this new evidence,"Gen. David D. McKiernan, who is the commander of the NATO-led forcehere, said in a written statement on Sunday.

McKiernan did not say what the new evidence was, but the videoschallenge some of the findings by U.S. investigators.

The grainy cell phone video, shot by an unnamed Afghan aid officialand handed over to the United Nations mission in Kabul, shows twolong rows of people apparently killed during the raid, laid on amosque floor, awaiting burial.

As Afghan women and a young boy sob over some of the bodies,bearded and turbaned men walk around, lifting some of the scarvesand blankets covering the corpses.

At least eight children can be seen in the two videos. Two of themlook as though they are asleep. Part of the skull of one child hasbeen blown off.

A U.N. official who has seen one video of Azizabad told TheAssociated Press it shows maimed children. The official becamehighly emotional describing rows of bodies.

It was impossible to verify conclusively that the videos showed theaftermath of the Azizabad attack, but the contents of the videomatched claims by Afghan and U.N. officials that the videos showedthe U.S. operation killed far more civilians than the military hasadmitted to.

A second Western official has said one video shows bodies of "tensof children" lined up. He called the video "gruesome." The twoofficials spoke on condition they not be identified because thevideos had not been publicly released.

The New York Times reported on its Web site Sunday that Azizabadhad 42 freshly dug graves, including 13 so small they could holdonly children.

Karzai has for years now warned the U.S. and NATO that it must stopkilling civilians in its bombing runs, saying such deaths underminehis government and the international mission. But the Azizabadincident could finally push Karzai to take action.

Shortly after the Azizabad attack, he ordered a review of whetherthe U.S. and NATO should be allowed to use airstrikes or carry outraids in villages. He also called for an updated "status of force"agreement between the Afghan government and foreign militaries.That review has not yet been completed.

Nek Mohammad Ishaq, a provincial council member in Herat and amember of the Afghan investigating commission, has said photographsand video taken of the victims are with Afghanistan's secretiveintelligence service.

Afghan officials say U.S. special forces and Afghan commandosraided the village while hundreds of people were gathered in alarge compound for a memorial service honoring a tribal leader,Timor Shah, who was killed eight months ago by a rival, NaderTawakal.

The U.S. investigative report released Tuesday said American andAfghan forces took fire from militants while approaching Azizabadand that "justified use of well-aimed small-arms fire and close airsupport to defend the combined force."

The report said investigators discovered evidence that themilitants planned to attack a nearby coalition base. Evidencecollected included weapons, explosives, intelligence materials andan access badge to the base, as well as photographs from inside andoutside the base.