Kabul, Afghanistan – A U.S.-led raid Sunday on a suspected militant cell killed as many as six Afghans – including a woman and a teenage girl – and spawned protests by hundreds of angry Afghans chanting “Death to Bush!”
The U.S. said four militants were among the dead, but it was the civilian deaths that infuriated protesters, who carried five bodies to a main highway and blocked traffic with felled trees during the demonstration. The bodies of the women were covered by sheets, while the men’s faces were revealed.
“Their operation was based on incorrect reports, and they carried out a cruel attack on these houses,” said local resident Akhtar Mohammad at the protest. “We are not the enemy; we are not al-Qaeda. Why are they attacking us?”
Afghan officials have repeatedly pleaded with the U.S. and NATO to take care during operations that might harm civilians, and the latest violence is sure to deepen distrust among Afghans, whose support for international forces and the shaky U.S.- backed government is waning.
“It is extremely unfortunate that militants put others’ lives in danger by hiding among their families,” said U.S. Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman.
The protest was held on the same highway where a U.S. Marine convoy, fleeing after being hit by a suicide car bomb on March 4, fired indiscriminately on vehicles and pedestrians, killing 12 people.
The protesters focused their anger on President Bush and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, as well as the governor of Nangarhar.
Acting on a tip that the cell was planning three suicide car bomb attacks against coalition forces in the coming weeks, coalition and Afghan forces jointly raided the compound, the coalition statement said.
