Afghanistan Nematullah Shahrani, the Afghan government minister, has said that an investigation found that more than 90 civilians were killed in American led NATO air strikes early Friday in Azizabad, a village in Herat province. "Most are women and children" She continued: "They have claimed that Taliban were there. They must prove it, so far, it is not clear for us why the coalition conducted the air strikes." La'l Mohammad Omarzaisaid, district chief, said the bombed houses belonged to men who worked as security guards at an airstrip used by international troops that is 120km south of the city of Herat . Many of the dead had, in accordance with Afghan tradition, gathered to mark the 40th day since the killing of a militia commander. Ahmad Nader Nadery, an Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission researcher, said 15 houses had been destroyed and others were damaged. He also confirmed that memorial ceremony was being held for Timor Shah, deputy militia commander allied with the Afghan police. The death was related to a personal dispute. The memorial had attracted relatives and friends from outside Azizabad that were staying overnight in the village. General Jalandar Shah Behnam, the head of the corps for western Afghanistan, and commando major Abdul Jabar were fired for "negligence and concealing facts," by Hamid Karzai , Afghanistan's president. The presidential decree also stated that "[i]n the tragic air strike and irresponsible and imprecise military operation in Azizabad village in Shindand district, more than 89 of our innocent countrymen, including women and children, were martyred." Karzai had earlier appealed to the U.S. led coalition to avoid civilian casualties and be careful.
Afghanistan Nematullah Shahrani, the Afghan government minister, has said that an investigation found that more than 90 civilians were killed in American led NATO air strikes early Friday in Azizabad, a village in province. "Most are women and children" She continued: "They have claimed that were there. They must prove it, so far, it is not clear for us why the coalition conducted the air strikes." La'l Mohammad Omarzaisaid, district chief, said the bombed houses belonged to men who worked as security guards at an airstrip used by international troops that is 120km south of the city of . Many of the dead had, in accordance with Afghan tradition, gathered to mark the 40th day since the killing of a militia commander. Ahmad Nader Nadery, an Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission researcher, said 15 houses had been destroyed and others were damaged. He also confirmed that memorial ceremony was being held for Timor Shah, deputy militia commander allied with the Afghan police. The death was related to a personal dispute. The memorial had attracted relatives and friends from outside Azizabad that were staying overnight in the village. General Jalandar Shah Behnam, the head of the corps for western Afghanistan, and commando major Abdul Jabar were fired for "negligence and concealing facts," by , Afghanistan's president. The presidential decree also stated that "[i]n the tragic air strike and irresponsible and imprecise military operation in Azizabad village in Shindand district, more than 89 of our innocent countrymen, including women and children, were martyred." Karzai had earlier appealed to the U.S. led coalition to avoid civilian casualties and be careful.
D
Herat
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Taliban
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Herat
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Hamid Karzai