Reuters : Afghans check reports of civilian bombing deaths

Afghans check reports of civilian bombing deaths

By Abdul Qodous | August 3, 2007

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan authorities were checking on Friday reported heavy civilian casualties after air strikes by Western forces in the southern province of Helmand.

At least 20 wounded civilians were brought to a main hospital in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, Helmand's police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said.

"I can confirm there were heavy bombardments," Andiwal told Reuters by phone. "We have heard of heavy casualties too and have sent a team to investigate this."

A provincial lawmaker in Kabul, Mohammad Anwar, also received reports of high civilian casualties.

In the Lashkar Gah hospital, Shokhi Khan, a relative of one of the wounded, said several hundred civilians were killed or wounded in the strikes.

He said people had gathered for picnics and to go to a shrine in Baghran district north of Lashkar Gah on Thursday when the raids started.

A group of wounded civilians were also brought to a hospital in neighboring Kandahar. Journalists were barred from filming or talking to them inside the wards.

But several family members of victims talked to journalists and gave accounts similar to Khan's.

One, Haji Hakim Jan, a 27-year-old barefooted man, said he lost four of his brothers.

"I had another brother of mine and an eight-year-old sister wounded in the bombing," Jan said, adding that the deaths would alienate civilians from Western troops and make people join the Taliban insurgents.

Both NATO and the U.S.-led coalition forces operate in Helmand, a long-time bastion for Taliban guerrillas.