KABUL — Airstrikes in western Afghanistan killed 10 civilians and failed to hit a targeted militant commander, provincial officials said today.
The U.S. military originally said Tuesday’s strike killed a warlord named Mullah Mustafa, who reportedly has links to Iran’s elite military Quds Force. However, the U.S. backed off this assertion in a statement today, saying “credible reports surfaced that Mustafa survived the attack” in Ghor province.
Ghor deputy Gov. Karimuddin Rezazada told The Associated Press that 10 civilians, including five children, and 12 militants were killed in the airstrikes in Shahrak district. He cited reports from district officials and area security forces.
Rezazada said Mullah Mustafa was not killed in the attack. He did not provide further details but said he had dependable reports that Mustafa was alive.
The U.S. statement said “unsubstantiated reports of civilian casualties emerged” today. The military said that its review of the operation supports the idea that all killed were militants, but said they are still examining reports.
The U.S. previously said 16 of Mustafa’s men also were killed in the strike.
“Mustafa is an enemy of Afghanistan, and we’re working with Afghan officials to pursue him until he is captured or confirmed killed,” Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said in the statement. “In addition, we are working closely with Afghan partners to investigate unconfirmed reports of civilians among Mustafa’s party.”
The U.S. said its forces had observed Mustafa moving by vehicle from his compound on Tuesday and launched the air attack when he stopped in a remote, unpopulated area with a number of associates.
Mustafa is said to command about 100 fighters and “reportedly had connections to” the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, which is known to train Shiite militants from Middle Eastern countries, according to the U.S. military.
Sidenstricker said that the military was not implying that Mustafa has links with Iran’s government, but that individual militants in Afghanistan may have links with individual militants in Iran.
Rezazada said Mustafa has links with the Taliban and was behind a string of attacks.
Taliban extremists are Sunni and have in the past been opposed to Iran’s government.
Rezazada said that Mustafa is a Sunni Muslim, not a Shiite Muslim like most Iranians. Asked on Wednesday whether Mustafa has links with the Quds Brigade, Rezazada said: “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’re not aware of that.”
Meanwhile, clashes in the north killed 12 insurgents and one Afghan soldier, the government said today.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that Wednesday’s fighting spanned three villages in Baghlan province. Provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail said a combined international and Afghan force fought Taliban gunmen over the course of the day, eventually routing the militants from the area.
NATO also said its troops battled insurgents in western Baghdis on Wednesday. The international military coalition said Afghan and NATO forces “killed and wounded a significant number of insurgents,” but did not give figures. No Afghan or NATO troops were killed, it said in a statement.
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