Afghan-US force raids Logar house, one killed

PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): A joint Afghan-US security force raided a house in the Mohammad Agha district of central Logar province early on Wednesday morning, killing one inmate and arresting two others, officials said.

The joint force conducted the raid in the Kandahari village around 4am in pursuit of suspected insurgents, the district chief, Abdul Hamid Hamid, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

“The joint forces told me that first they came under fire from the house and one person named Farid Ahmad was killed when they returned fire,” he said.

After the shootout, the combined force entered the house and arrested two inmates with a gun, he said.

But the district police chief, Lt. Abdul Wakil Haqyar, told Pajhwok Afghan News he had not been consulted prior to the operation. He did not know why the raid was carried out and who the house belonged to. Haqyar confirmed one person had been killed and two others detained during the operation.

Meanwhile, a resident of the village, Mirajuddin, who is also relative of the family, said the dead and the detainees were innocent residents and they had no connection with any group.

“The US forces have committed atrocity. They left behind another family to mourn the death of its beloved member,” he said. He rejected the claim that the joint force had been fired upon from the house.

“The US forces broke down the house’s door and left the family’s belongings scattered,” he said.

However, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement said: “According to initial reports, combined Afghan and ISAF forces conducted an operation in Muhammad Agha district of Logar province this morning and were engaged by small arms fire.  Responding to the threat, the security force killed one individual and detained two others.”

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