KABUL — An airstrike by U.S. fighter jets that appears to have killed Afghan civilians could turn into a major dispute for NATO allies Germany and the United States, as tensions began rising between them Sunday over Germany’s role in ordering the attack.
Afghan officials say up to 70 people were killed in the early- morning airstrike Friday in the northern province of Kunduz after Taliban militants stole two tanker trucks of fuel and villagers gathered to siphon off gas.
Afghan and NATO investigations are just beginning, but both German and U.S. officials already appeared to be trying to deflect blame.
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said the Taliban’s possession of the two tankers “posed an acute threat to our soldiers.” German officials have said the tankers might have been used as suicide bombs.
“If there were civilian casualties or injuries, of course we deeply regret that. At the same time, it was clear that our soldiers were in danger,” Jung said in comments to German broadcasters. “Consequently, I stand clearly behind our commander’s decision” to order the airstrike.
Meanwhile, Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, the top U.S. and NATO spokesman in the country, said German troops let too many hours pass before visiting the site of the bombing Friday.
He explained that it’s important to hold the ground after a strike and determine what happened before the enemy comes out with its own version of events.
Whether the German commanders or the U.S. pilot is at fault for any civilian casualties may turn into an inner-NATO tussle.
Smith said the ground force commander “is the decisionmaker for close air support. That’s doctrine.” But he also conceded that a pilot can refuse an order to drop a bomb.
No NATO officials will yet say how many civilians they think may have died. Smith on Saturday said the preliminary overall death toll was believed to be 56. Afghan officials say it’s in the low 70s.
