PAN, June 29, 2011

Airstrike kills civilians in Wardak: witnesses

Arif said the victims were local civilians and that the death toll could increase

By Mirwais Himmat

At least five civilians were killed and nine others wounded in a NATO airstrike in the Syedabad district of central Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday, witnesses said.

The air raid was carried out in Salar village of the district in the afternoon, Haji Arif, the owner of a private security firm, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said five dead bodies had so far been retrieved from beneath the rubble. Another nine people were injured in the strike, he said.

Arif said the victims were local civilians and that the death toll could increase.

A witness, who was injured in the attack, said the attack happened all of a sudden.

Provincial Public Health Director, Dr. Ismail Ibrahimi, confirmed receiving five dead bodies and nine injured people at the civil hospital. He said two of the injured are in a critical condition.

The governor's spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said only two security guards of a private firm had been killed in the airstrike. He rejected reports that civilians had been killed.

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