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NATO strike kills 2 Afghan civilians

  • Story Highlights
  • NATO airstrike accidentally kills 2 Afghan civilians amid anger over casualties
  • Malfunction caused weapon to miss intended target by 2 miles, NATO said
  • Incident comes after rights group said airstrikes in Afghanistan tripled 2006-07
  • Report: U.S. dropped as many bombs in June/July 2008 as it did during all 2006
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(CNN) -- NATO-led forces in Afghanistan say an airstrike has accidentally killed two civilians and wounded up to 10 others amid concern over mounting casualties.

An Afghan man prepares a grave after a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan's Herat province last month.

An Afghan man prepares a grave after a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan's Herat province last month.

The NATO bombing took place near Sabari, in Khost province, as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) called in an airstrike on an insurgent rocket-launching position, the force said in a statement Tuesday.

A malfunction caused the weapon to miss its intended target by about two miles, the statement said.

The incident comes in the aftermath of a U.S. military operation last month that killed as many as 90 civilians in Herat province, according to local officials and a United Nations report.

The Afghan government and United Nations have investigated the bombing, which led some Afghan ministers to demand a review of international troops within its borders. The U.S. military has also re-opened a probe of the incident, after the top NATO commander asked for a review of the initial military investigation upon learning of possible new evidence.

In eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a roadside bomb blast killed three troops assigned to the U.S.-led coalition, the coalition said. An Afghan contractor also was killed, the military said. The nationalities of the military personnel were not revealed.

Meanwhile, ISAF said Tuesday that Afghan and international troops repelled an insurgent attack Monday night in Paktia province, located in the east.

Afghan troops guarding a district center were ambushed and then called for ISAF help. The troops, using air support, killed most of the insurgents, ISAF said.

The latest casualties came one day after a humanitarian watchdog released a report saying that U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan nearly tripled between 2006 and 2007.

The report, issued by Human Rights Watch Monday, also cites the Taliban's use of human shields and its deployment of fighters "in populated villages, at times with the specific intent to shield their forces from counterattack."

The coalition and NATO have been contacted for a response but there has been no immediate reaction.

The report came as the U.S. military probed an August 22 airstrike that Afghan government officials say killed 90 civilians. The U.S. military says the strike killed five to seven civilians.

Airstrikes killed 116 civilians in 2006 and 321 in 2007. This year, 119 have been killed so far: the figures do not include the August 22 incident, where the number of those killed is under dispute, the report said.

The report added that "twice as many tons of bombs were dropped in 2007 than in 2006" and that in June and July of 2008, the U.S. "dropped approximately as much as it did in all of 2006."

"While airstrikes typically drop in number during the winter due to decreased fighting, this was not the case during the winter of 2007-2008. December 2007 saw twice the number of airstrikes as July 2007.

"There has been a massive and unprecedented surge in the use of airpower in Afghanistan in 2008. In response to increased insurgent activity, twice as many tons of bombs were dropped in 2007 than in 2006," the report said.

The group said almost all airstrike civilian deaths have occurred during "rapid-response strikes, often carried out in support of ground troops after they came under insurgent attacks."

"Rapid response airstrikes have meant higher civilian casualties, while every bomb dropped in populated areas amplifies the chance of a mistake," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"Mistakes by the U.S. and NATO have dramatically decreased public support for the Afghan government and the presence of international forces providing security to Afghans."

Human Rights Watch also cites what it calls "the poor response" by U.S. officials when such deaths occur. It says U.S. officials "often immediately deny responsibility for civilian deaths or place all blame on the Taliban."

"U.S. investigations conducted have been unilateral, ponderous, and lacking in transparency, undercutting rather than improving relations with local populations and the Afghan government."

The report also said a condolence payment system has not offered "timely and adequate compensation to assist civilians harmed by U.S. actions."

The report said the United States and NATO announced changes in tactics that led to a drop in the casualties at the end of 2007. One of those was "delaying attacks where civilians might be harmed."

"However, alarmingly, civilian deaths are once again climbing," the report said.

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The report said the problem will continue "without improvements in planning, intelligence, targeting, and identifying civilian populations."

"The U.S. needs to end the mistakes that are killing so many civilians," said Adams. "The U.S. must also take responsibility, including by providing timely compensation, when its airstrikes kill Afghan civilians.

"While Taliban shielding is a factor in some civilian deaths, the U.S. shouldn't use this as an excuse when it could have taken better precautions. It is, after all, its bombs that are doing the killing."

All About AfghanistanNATOHuman Rights WatchUnited NationsThe Taliban

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