U.S. Military Denies Bomb Hit Afghan Villagers
August 31, 2004
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31 August 2004 -- The U.S. military said today its forces killed more than 20 Islamic militants yesterday in eastern Afghanistan, but denied reports that Afghan villagers were hit.
There have been reports of civilian casualties after U.S. warplanes targeted a remote eastern Afghan village in response to a rocket attack on the local administration in Manogi, 170 kilometers from Kabul.
But U.S. Army Major Scott Nelson says the U.S. forces did not fire on villagers. He said U.S. forces saw that their "precision-guided bomb" had hit a militant vehicle with a weapons system.
Earlier today, Gorm Pedersen, director of the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees, said eight villagers and one aid worker were injured and the group's headquarters destroyed.
(Reuters/AFP/AP)