Australian troops kill two children in Afghanistan: officials

Civilian casualties caused by NATO-led forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the campaign against Taliban insurgents, often triggering widespread public anger and harsh criticism from President Hamid Karzai.

The two children, aged 7 and 8, were killed on Thursday morning as Australian soldiers fought back after a Taliban attack in Uruzgan province, provincial governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada told AFP.

“The children were killed by Australian troops, it was a mistaken incident, not a deliberate one,” Akhundzada said, adding that insurgents had first shot at a helicopter carrying Australian soldiers.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) expressed its “deep regret” over the children's deaths and said it remained committed to minimizing civilian casualties.

“I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed,” General Joseph Dunford, commander of ISAF, said in a statement.

“I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in which they lived. We take full responsibility for this tragedy.”

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March 3, 2013    you_rnotalone@

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I’m sad and enraged by this barbaric act. The shameless invaders have this type of savagery in their blood. They invaded the land called Australia and massacred millions of innocent natives and built an empire of horror there.
Now they are practicing those heinous acts on poor innocent Afghan children.

It is unbelievable to mistake two little kids, hardly 90 cm tall, for adult Taliban. It was definitely a deliberate unforgivable act.
The commander of the ISAF (Inhuman Savage Animalistic Forces) said “I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed . . .”. What is the right thing? According to American standards, the right things to dehumanize the family and area, as they have been doing till now.

March 9, 2013    truth@

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you_rnotalone@
Do you know what the ROE of NATO forces in Afghanistan are? It's like fighting with both hands tied behind your back and soldiers are prosecuted if they aren't followed. How many times have the lovable, huggable, misunderstood Taliban followed the ROE? NEVER!!!!!!! This is war. You should do a bit of reading outside of your liberal blogosphere and find out who the enemy is in Afghanistan. War is hell. The Afghan people should have thought about that long and hard before they let these Taliban animals take control their country.

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