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US to reopen Afghan attack case US to reopen Afghan attack case
(about 5 hours later)
The US forces in Afghanistan are re-opening an investigation into a US air attack last month which reportedly killed many civilians. US forces in Afghanistan are re-opening an investigation into a US air attack last month which reportedly killed many civilians.
The US military says there is new information about the attack in the western province of Herat. The US military says there is new information about the raid on the Taleban in western Herat province.
A United Nations official says video footage of the attack's aftermath shows the bodies of dead children. The US had previously disputed claims by local people that as many as 90 civilians were killed in the attack.
For two weeks after the attack, the US said that only seven civilians were killed along with up to 35 militants. It comes as Human Rights Watch warned such attacks were undermining Afghan support for Nato and US troops.
The New York-based rights group said civilian deaths from international air strikes nearly tripled between 2006 and 2007.
The reliance on few ground forces and overwhelming air power was leading to "mistakes" that had "dramatically decreased" support for the Afghan government and international troops, the group said.
"Civilian deaths from air strikes act as a recruiting tool for the Taleban and risk fatally undermining the international effort to provide basic security to the people of Afghanistan," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement.
Fresh gravesFresh graves
Video footage from mobile phones showing dozens of dead bodies has given increasing credibility to claims by local residents that up to 90 civilians were killed in the attack. The report comes two weeks after US-led air and ground strikes on Azizabad village in Shindand, Herat.
The footage shows bodies - many of them women and children - lined up in a mosque in the village of Azizabad, which was the subject of a combined ground operation and airstrike by US forces. The US said seven civilians had been killed in what was a successful operation to target a Taleban commander.
The US and Nato need to dramatically improve their co-ordination with each other and with the government of Afghanistan Rachel ReidHuman Rights Watch
But video footage from mobile phones allegedly showing dozens of dead bodies has given increasing credibility to claims by local residents that up to 90 civilians were killed in the attack.
The footage allegedly shows bodies - many of them women and children - lined up in a mosque in the village.
Both the Afghan government and the United Nations have already carried out their own investigations into the attack.Both the Afghan government and the United Nations have already carried out their own investigations into the attack.
They say the video evidence, and the presence of a large number of fresh graves in the village, confirm the accounts of local people.They say the video evidence, and the presence of a large number of fresh graves in the village, confirm the accounts of local people.
Until now, the US military has insisted that far fewer civilians died in what it says was a successful operation against Taleban militants in the area. On Sunday, the senior US commander in Afghanistan, David McKiernan, said that in light of new evidence, he had asked for the American investigation to be reopened.
On Sunday, however, the senior US commander in Afghanistan, David McKiernan, said that in light of new evidence, he had asked for the American investigation to be reopened. Damaged reputation
Human Rights Watch found that in 2008 at least 321 Afghan civilians had been killed in international air strikes - a rise from at least 230 in 2006.
This figure was much lower than the number of civilians killed in militant attacks, the group pointed out. Nearly 950 people were killed by insurgents in 2008, compared with 700 in 2006.
HRW said most of the air strike casualties occurred in unplanned raids, when air power was called to give support to troops on the ground.
"The US and Nato need to dramatically improve their co-ordination with each other and with the government of Afghanistan," HRW's Rachel Reid told the BBC.
"We're calling on the military to use precision-guided, low collateral damage munitions whenever possible... especially in densely-populated areas."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly warned the US and Nato that civilian deaths undermine his government and damages the reputation of foreign forces in the country.Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly warned the US and Nato that civilian deaths undermine his government and damages the reputation of foreign forces in the country.