KABUL, Afghanistan – A U.S.-led raid Sunday on a suspected militant cell killed as many as six Afghans – including a woman and a teenage girl – and spawned protests by hundreds of angry Afghans chanting “Death to Bush!”
The U.S. said four militants were among the dead. Abdul Mohammad, a Nangarhar province police investigator, said the operation in the Bati Kot district left five civilians dead, including two women. The differing figures could not immediately be reconciled, and it could not be verified if the dead men were militants or not.
Protesters carried five bodies to a main highway and blocked traffic with felled trees during the demonstration. The bodies of the women were entirely covered by sheets, while the men’s faces were revealed.
“Their operation was based on incorrect reports, and they carried out a cruel attack on these houses,” said local resident Akhtar Mohammad at the protest. “We are not the enemy, we are not al-Qaida. Why are they attacking us?”
“It is extremely unfortunate that militants put others’ lives in danger by hiding among their families,” said U.S. Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman.
Acting on a tip indicating that the cell was planning three suicide car bomb attacks against coalition forces in the coming weeks, coalition and Afghan forces jointly raided the compound, the coalition statement said.
The coalition said that after being fired upon, the coalition forces returned fire, killing four militants, an adult woman and a teenage girl. Another child and a teenage girl were also wounded during the gunfight and are being treated at a coalition facility.
Coalition forces found several guns and bomb-making materials, and detained one man from the compound for questioning.
The coalition said it arrested four other suspects and discovered more bomb-making materials elsewhere in the area Sunday.
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