KABUL, Afghanistan — A deadly U.S. military raid on a house near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan became a new source of tension Thursday, with the Americans calling it a successful counterterrorism strike and the Afghans saying it left three innocent civilians dead and two wounded, including a 4-year-old boy bitten by an attack dog.
The raid took place Wednesday in the village of Kundi, in Khost province. President Hamid Karzai condemned the raid. He is under enormous pressure from Afghans who say the seven-year war against the Taliban has devastated the country and led to many civilian casualties at the hands of American-led forces.
In Khost, American-led forces blasted the gate of the house early Wednesday, then fatally shot the family’s father and mother and a male relative, according to Tahir Khan Sabry, deputy governor of the province. Sabry described all the victims as noncombatant civilians.
The American military said the raid led to the detention of an operative of al-Qaeda and that those killed were armed and showing “hostile intent.”
