Karzai asks ISAF to probe Takhar raid

KABUL, in northern Takhar province.

Karzai asked the western military alliance to investigate into the incident and provide him details, his office said in a statement.

Nearly a dozen people were killed and 86 others were wounded when police opened fire at a mob protesting over the deaths in the airstrike in Taloqan city on Wednesday.

But NATO-led ISAF in a statement said a combined Afghan and coalition security force killed four insurgents, including two armed females, in Taloqan.

The operation was carried out in pursuit of an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator, who acquires, constructs, and moves weapons and explosives throughout the province, the alliance said.

Police opened fire at protesting crowd, killing 11 people and injuring 85 others when the demonstration turned violent.

In his statement, Karzai called the overnight offensive as “irresponsible.” He called for a thoroughgoing inquiry into the air raid and the circumstances that led to the deaths of civilians.

Karzai said his repeated calls on foreign troops to stop nighttime airstrikes fell on deaf airs.

The President also asked Takhar governor and elders to keep an eye on militants trying to take advantage of the situation. “A peaceful protest is the right of every Afghan, but this right should not be misused,” the statement quoted Karzai as saying.

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