PAN, July 24, 2010


Seven children injured in Helmand airstrike

Hanif, a resident of Sangin, said several people had been killed and injured

By Zainullah Stanikzai

LASHKARGAH: Seven children were injured when coalition forces bombed a village in the southern province of Helmand on Saturday, health officials said.

NATO victim in Helmand
Abdul Ghafaar comforts his 7 year old nephew at a hospital in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan. Saturday July 24, 2010. Ghafaar said he brought seven children to the city's hospital after getting caught in crossfire Friday between NATO and Taliban forces in Sangin, a flash-point town in neighboring Helmand province. (Photo: AP)

Three girls and four boys were injured in the air strike in Sangin district, the director of Mirwais Hospital, Dr. Abdul Qayyum Pukhla, told Pajhwok Afghan News. He said the condition of the seven was improving.

International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) media office in Kabul said it was aware of reports of civilian casualties in Sangin, but had no information about an operation in that area.

However, residents said that Taliban had fired on international troops from the village and that NATO had called in an airstrike.

Hanif, a resident of Sangin, said several people had been killed and injured. However, he did not have any exact number of casualties.

AIP, Jul. 24, 2010:

Though the authorities express ignorance about this incident, however, at least seven injured persons, including three minor girls and 4 boys, were brought from Sangin to the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. Muhammad Umar, who had come with the injured people to the hospital, told media that they had come to Regi from another village owing to clashes in their village. He added that the foreigners first fired at people, including women and children, and then their choppers conducted airstrikes on them, leaving several civilians dead and injured. He lamented that he did not have correct information regarding casualties to citizens.

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