Twelve Afghan civilians killed as NATO rockets miss target
February 15th, 2010 - 2:31 am ICT by BNO NewsKABUL (BNO NEWS) — Twelve Afghan civilians were killed on Sunday when two NATO rockets targeting insurgents missed their target, officials said.
Two rockets were fired from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province, targeting insurgents who were allegedly firing upon Afghan and NATO-led ISAF forces. The rockets missed their intended target by approximately 300 meters, killing 12 civilians, NATO confirmed.
“We deeply regret this tragic loss of life,” said ISAF Commander General Stanley McChrystal, who conveyed his apologies to Afghan president Hamid Karzai. “The current operation in Central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan. It’s regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost. We extend our heartfelt sympathies and will ensure we do all we can to avoid future incidents.”
The original target of the two rockets was a compound where insurgents were said to be delivering direct fire on an Afghan-ISAF joint team, in which an Afghan National Army soldier and an ISAF service member had been injured.
ISAF said the use of the HIMARS has been suspended until a review of the incident has been conducted.
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