ISAF vehicle kills 5-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

ISAF vehicle kills 5-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan

2011-03-14 02:35:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A young boy was killed on Saturday morning when he was struck by a coalition vehicle in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Sunday.

The accident happened at around 11 a.m. local time on Saturday in the Chawni area of Kandahar City, the capital of the country's Kandahar Province. The victim's uncle told the Pajhwok Afghan News agency that the child, Abu Bakar, was five years old.

An ISAF spokesman confirmed that one of their vehicles struck a child, but provided few details about the circumstances. "After the child was struck, ISAF personnel left their vehicles to render aid to the child. It was determined the child had died," he said.

The spokesman said that a crowd of locals quickly gathered at the scene and became hostile. "In order to defuse the situation, ISAF personnel returned to their vehicles and left the scene. Our reporting indicates local nationals removed the child from the street," he added.

According to the victim's uncle, ISAF soldiers fired into the air before leaving the scene, but the alliance was unable to confirm this. "I have no reporting that ISAF fired into the [air]," the ISAF spokesman said.

ISAF is under increasing pressure over civilian casualties as a result of its operations in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, ISAF troops 'accidentally' killed a cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai when troops mistook him for an armed insurgent.

Before that, earlier this month, ISAF forces accidentally killed nine children in the Darah-Ye Pech district of Kunar Province when they carried out an airstrike, causing nationwide outrage from civilians and Afghan officials.

On Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he wants an end to U.S. and ISAF operations in Afghanistan. "Afghan suffered a lot in the nearly decade-long war. No other nation in the world has suffered as much as Afghans. The war has been imposed on us and we want an end to this. There should be no bombings and no unnecessary arrests," the president said.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-14

[bangkokeddy]

returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

[chuckd]

returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

And now, for the rest of the story....

"The spokesman said that a crowd of locals quickly gathered at the scene and became hostile. "In order to defuse the situation, ISAF personnel returned to their vehicles and left the scene. Our reporting indicates local nationals removed the child from the street," he added."

[bangkokeddy]

returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

And now, for the rest of the story....

"The spokesman said that a crowd of locals quickly gathered at the scene and became hostile. "In order to defuse the situation, ISAF personnel returned to their vehicles and left the scene. Our reporting indicates local nationals removed the child from the street," he added."

...left the scene ...

Is the meme here. I am sure you heard that before.

[chuckd]

returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

And now, for the rest of the story....

"The spokesman said that a crowd of locals quickly gathered at the scene and became hostile. "In order to defuse the situation, ISAF personnel returned to their vehicles and left the scene. Our reporting indicates local nationals removed the child from the street," he added."

...left the scene ...

Is the meme here. I am sure you heard that before.

'In order to defuse the situation' might have had something to do with 'leaving the scene'.

Your quote was taken out of context, which in some circles might be considered a questionable act.

[beechguy]

returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

And now, for the rest of the story....

"The spokesman said that a crowd of locals quickly gathered at the scene and became hostile. "In order to defuse the situation, ISAF personnel returned to their vehicles and left the scene. Our reporting indicates local nationals removed the child from the street," he added."

...left the scene ...

Is the meme here. I am sure you heard that before.

Difficult to know the situation, but in some respects, I'm surprised they stopped at all. They can be under orders to keep moving because of the threat of an ambush, no comparison to Thailand.