KABUL): President Hamid Karzai on Monday tasked a high-level delegation with investigating Sunday’s civilian casualties during a joint operation in central Maidan Wardak province.
Seven civilians and four insurgents were killed during a predawn operation by Afghan and coalition forces in the Taliban-infested Syedabad district of the province.
The governor’s office said the raid in Hassankhel area killed four militants. A fourth insurgent, named Siddiqullah, was detained in Timorkhel village.
The guerrillas, hiding in a mosque, were killed when their suicide vests exploded, also damaging the worship place. Seven civilians, including a woman, were also killed while trying to recover the bodies.
A statement from the Presidential Palace said the delegation comprised representatives from the Administrative Affairs Department, defence and interior ministries, Independent Directorate of Security, Secretariat of Ministers’ Council and Independent Directorate of Local Governance.
The statement added the team would investigate the incident with cooperation from area elders, provincial council members and religious scholars. The investigators will submit their findings to the president.
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