March 04, 2007
A Look at Afghan Civilian Deaths
An Afghan man stands near two dead bodies of Afghan civilians who, they said, allegedly were killed by American soldiers after a car bombing on an American convoy in Barayekab in Nangarhar province eastern Afghanistan... Sunday, March 4, 2007. by Rahmat Gul*
March 4: U.S. Marines fleeing a suicide bombing and militant ambush open fire on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, witnesses said. Officials say up to 10 civilians were killed and 35 injured. The Interior Ministry says American gunfire caused most of the casualties; U.S. officials say they are still sorting through the chain of events but that the suicide bombing or militant gunfire could have been responsible.
more dates & stats: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6457296,00.html
also: Afghan media: U.S. troops deleted images
Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the military convoy. The U.S. military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack.
A freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and a cameraman working for AP Television News said a U.S. soldier deleted their photos and video showing a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death about 100 yards from the suicide bombing. The AP plans to lodge a protest with the American military.
The photographer, Rahmat Gul, said witnesses at the scene told him the three had been shot to death by U.S. forces fleeing the attack. The two AP freelancers arrived at the site about a half hour after the suicide bombing, Gul said.
"When I went near the four-wheel drive, I saw the Americans taking pictures of the same car, so I started taking pictures," Gul said. "Two soldiers with a translator came and said, 'Why are you taking pictures? You don't have permission.'"
It wasn't clear why the accredited journalists would need permission to take photos of a civilian car on a public highway.
Gul said the U.S. soldiers took his camera, deleted his photos and returned it to him. The journalists came across another American soldier, showed their identification cards, and he agreed that they could take pictures.
A Western military official who asked not to be identified said the troops were Marine Special Operations Forces, the Marine Corps component created in February 2006 of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
"The same soldier who took my camera came again and deleted my photos," Gul said. "The soldier was very angry ... I told him, 'They gave us permission,' but he didn't listen."
Gul's new photos were also deleted, and the American soldier, speaking through a translator, warned him that he did not want to see any AP photos published anywhere. The soldier also raised his fist in anger as if he were going to hit him, but he did not strike, Gul said.
Lt. Col. David Accetta, a U.S. military spokesman, said he did not have any confirmed reports that coalition soldiers "have been involved in confiscating cameras or deleting images."
Taqiullah Taqi, a reporter for Afghanistan's largest television station, Tolo TV, said American soldiers were using abusive language.
"According to the translator, they said, 'Delete them, or we will delete you,'" Taqi said.
story | SeattlePI (March 4)
Afghan men carry a body of a civilian who, they said, allegedly was killed by American soldiers after a car bomber attacked an American convoy in Barayekab in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan... by Rahmat Gul
~*Later that day Mr. Gul found a place where men with guns didn't take his photographs? (Photos via Yahoo News Photo search: gul)
update: US Justifies Erasing Reporter's Photographs
Excerpt: The US military has said that a soldier was justified in erasing journalists' footage of the aftermath of a suicide bombing and shooting in which at least eight Afghans were killed.
In a letter to the Associated Press news agency a military spokesman said publication could have compromised an investigation and led to false public conclusions. ...
http://www.unknownnews.net/070312-mn.html#militarylies