Probe team visits raid victims’ families

ASADABAD (PAN): Members of a probe team on Thursday met relatives of the civilians killed during an airstrike in the Shegal district of eastern Kunar province, an official said on Thursday.

Five children, four women, a man and three insurgent commanders were killed in the coalition air raid on a militant hideout in the district. President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday condemned the civilian casualties and ordered an investigation into the strike.

The president directed a high-level delegation, led by his advisor Shujaul Mulk Jalala, to visit the area, investigate the raid and convey his condolences to the bereaved families.

Tribal elder Haji Bakhtiari asked the investigators to pay compensation to the victims’ families and release the individuals detained in the operation. He added 14 women, children and men were harmed.   

An ISAF representative, accompanying the delegation, confirmed that civilians were harmed in the joint operation and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.

Jalala said four women, a man and five children from two families were killed in the raid. He would convey residents’ sentiments to President Karzai, the official promised.

Meanwhile, Karzai also spoke with the victims’ families over the telephone and shared his grief with them. He promised all possible assistance to them.

mm/mud

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