US News

Afghan rage over civilian-death raid

A demonstration by Afghan tribesmen turned violent today as they set fire to fuel tankers during a protest over the alleged killing of civilians in a military raid, officials told AFP.

Colonel Ghulam Mustafa, provincial police chief for Logar, a troubled province to the south of Kabul, said U.S. and Afghan troops had raided a compound overnight. He said during the raid three men believed to be insurgents were killed.

A spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the alliance was “aware of an incident” and was “looking into it”.

The troops had captured several armed men and seized ammunition during the raid, Mustafa told AFP, leading them to believe the people in the compound were insurgents.

Early Sunday, hundreds of tribesmen poured onto the streets of Puli Alam, capital of Logar, shouting anti-U.S. slogans and insisting the dead and others who were detained in the raid were all ordinary villagers.

“There is a demonstration. It has turned violent and we have deployed the police force to control it,” said Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry.

Demonstrators had torched several vehicles including two fuel tankers, he said, adding that the main road linking the region to Kabul and several eastern provinces had been closed.