A provincial council member, Bismallah Afghanmal, said 80 to 85 civilians were killed in fighting in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province on Tuesday. A villager, Karim Jan, said 60 to 70 died.

Another government official who asked not to be named because it would "cause him problems" said at least 60 were killed.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force late Wednesday said its forces killed 48 militants in heavy fighting in Panjwayi on Tuesday. NATO also said it had "credible reports" of civilian casualties, though it said it only knew of four civilians who had been wounded.

The clashes targeted militants attacking NATO's development efforts in the area, said Maj. Luke Knittig, a ISAF spokesman. Troops used mortar, artillery and air support, the alliance said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry is heading up an investigation into the matter, NATO said.

But Afghanmal said Taliban fighters ran into civilian homes, which were then targeted by NATO forces.

NATO launched a major military operation in the Panjwayi area in September, and the alliance said it killed more than 500 suspected militants during "Operation Medusa," which the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Richards, called a "significant success."

However, there has since been heavy fighting in the area.

"The government and the coalition told the families that there are no Taliban in the area anymore," said Afghanmal. "If there are no Taliban, then why are they bombing the area?"

The reports of civilian casualties come less than a week after nine civilians were killed by NATO airstrikes a village in nearby Zhari district of Kandahar province.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly condemned civilian casualties, and last week urged NATO to take "maximum caution during military operations to avoid harming civilians."

A spokesman for Karzai declined immediate comment Thursday, and the Interior Ministry said it couldn't confirm reports of civilian casualties.


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan At least 60 civilians were killed during NATO operations in a volatile southern area of Afghanistan earlier this week, two government officials and a civilian said Thursday.

A provincial council member, Bismallah Afghanmal, said 80 to 85 civilians were killed in fighting in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province on Tuesday. A villager, Karim Jan, said 60 to 70 died.

Another government official who asked not to be named because it would "cause him problems" said at least 60 were killed.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force late Wednesday said its forces killed 48 militants in heavy fighting in Panjwayi on Tuesday. NATO also said it had "credible reports" of civilian casualties, though it said it only knew of four civilians who had been wounded.

The clashes targeted militants attacking NATO's development efforts in the area, said Maj. Luke Knittig, a ISAF spokesman. Troops used mortar, artillery and air support, the alliance said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry is heading up an investigation into the matter, NATO said.

But Afghanmal said Taliban fighters ran into civilian homes, which were then targeted by NATO forces.

NATO launched a major military operation in the Panjwayi area in September, and the alliance said it killed more than 500 suspected militants during "Operation Medusa," which the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Richards, called a "significant success."

However, there has since been heavy fighting in the area.

"The government and the coalition told the families that there are no Taliban in the area anymore," said Afghanmal. "If there are no Taliban, then why are they bombing the area?"

The reports of civilian casualties come less than a week after nine civilians were killed by NATO airstrikes a village in nearby Zhari district of Kandahar province.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly condemned civilian casualties, and last week urged NATO to take "maximum caution during military operations to avoid harming civilians."

A spokesman for Karzai declined immediate comment Thursday, and the Interior Ministry said it couldn't confirm reports of civilian casualties.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force insists it makes every effort to avoid killing civilians. In the three attacks it announced yesterday, the alliance statement suggested that civilians may have been intermixed with Taliban fighters.

"ISAF legitimately engaged attacking and positively identified insurgents," it said. However, the force admitted receiving "credible reports that there were a number of civilian casualties, including women and children."
Print Edition - Section Front

At least four wounded civilians were airlifted to the Kandahar air base, ISAF said. Another 10 were treated at civilian medical facilities.

All three clashes occurred in the district of Panjwai, the contested area west of Kandahar where Canadian troops have been battling insurgents. Regular Canadian troops weren't involved in any of the clashes, Canadian spokesman Lieutenant-Commander Kris Phillips said.

ISAF spokesman Major Luke Knittig declined to say which NATO units called in the air strikes and artillery fire against groups of Taliban in three separate incidents, at least one of which resulted in civilian casualties.

Special forces, both Canadian and those of other NATO countries, operate in Afghanistan. Almost all information about such operations is withheld by NATO countries.

ISAF said it "deeply regretted" any civilian casualties, adding that ISAF officers had already met with Afghan officials and tribal elders in the area as an investigation begins.

The first clash -- Tuesday morning -- resulted from an attack by several dozen Taliban fighters who struck an ISAF base near Sperwan Ghar. NATO troops called in air strikes and artillery fire to repel the attack.

In what appears to have been a running battle, the Taliban also attacked an Afghan National Army convoy in the vicinity. NATO again called in air strikes and artillery fire.

The second clash occurred after dusk close to a Canadian forward base called Wilson. Taliban insurgents seen moving south of the base in a vehicle were hit by NATO artillery fire.

Later Tuesday evening, a large group of suspected insurgents were seen close to Sperwan Gar and more air strikes were called in.

NATO has said its forces killed 48 militants in heavy fighting in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province Tuesday. The alliance said it only knew of four civilians wounded in the battle but that it had "credible reports'' of other casualties.

Kandahar provincial council member Bismallah Afghanmal said 80 to 85 civilians were killed in fighting. A villager, Karim Jan, said 60 to 70 died. Another government official, who asked not to be named because it would "cause me problems,'' said at least 60 died.

NATO spokesman Maj. Luke Knittig said troops used "precision strikes'' against militants who targeted aid deliveries and reconstruction projects in the area.

"Very sadly, civilians continue to get caught up in these engagements with tragic results,'' Knittig said.

Afghanmal said Taliban fighters ran into civilian homes, which were then targeted by NATO forces.

"With insurgents who regard the population as a form of human shield for themselves it obviously makes life very difficult for us, but it does not stop us from making every effort to ensure that we minimize any problems,'' said Mark Laity, another NATO spokesman.

The Afghan Defense Ministry was investigating, NATO said.

"An investigation has no meaning,'' said Afghanmal. "These kinds of things have happened several times, and they only say 'Sorry.' How can you compensate people who have lost their sons and daughters?''

NATO launched a major military operation in the Panjwayi area in September, and the alliance said it killed more than 500 suspected militants. The top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Richards, has called "Operation Medusa'' a "significant success.''

However, there has since been heavy fighting in the area.

"The government and the coalition told the families that there are no Taliban in the area anymore,'' said Afghanmal. "If there are no Taliban, then why are they bombing the area?''

The worst previous reported incident of civilian deaths involving foreign military action took place in July 2002, when a U.S. airstrike in Uruzgan province killed 46 civilians and wounded 117, many of them celebrating at a wedding party.

Last week, NATO strikes killed nine civilians in a village in the Zhari district of Kandahar province.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly condemned civilian casualties, and last week urged NATO to take "maximum caution during military operations to avoid harming civilians.''

A spokesman for Karzai declined immediate comment Thursday, and the Interior Ministry said it couldn't confirm that civilians were killed in Panjawayi.

In the largest known seizure of its kind, police recovered the drugs when they stopped the vehicle at a checkpoint on the Kandahar-Kabul road in Qalat city, the provincial capital of Zabul.

Opium cultivation rose by 59 percent this year in Afghanistan. The country produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium, with a record 165,000 ha under cultivation in 2006 compared to 104,000 in 2005, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Most of the opium produced in Afghanistan is smuggled via Central Asian countries to Russia and western Europe.

On Tuesday, local security forces, with the support of ISAF soldiers in the western province of Farah, seized more than 55 kg of opium from a car and detained the driver and a passenger.

UNODC estimated in 2005 that of the 920,000 drug users in Afghanistan, 520,000 of them were regular users of marijuana. The drug is also exported to neighbouring countries and contributes markedly to overall narcotics production in Afghanistan.

Opium, heroin and marijuana production remain integral to Afghanistan's economy. Some 2.9 million people are involved in growing opium, representing 12.6 percent of the total population. Revenue from this year's harvest is predicted to top US $3 billion, according to UNODC figures.

Tackling the country's burgeoning narcotics problem requires ongoing commitment from the international community, NATO officials said.

"This is a long-term problem which fuels corruption, finances insurgency and undermines law and order. Solving it cannot be done by military means alone, but dealing with it is essential," Mark Laity, a spokesman of NATO, told IRIN in Kabul.

Analysts say the involvement of some high-ranking government officials and regional warlords in the illicit drug trade has undermined ongoing efforts to rebuild the war-ravaged country.

"The involvement of many government officials at every level is distorting the very fabric of the state and feeding local disillusionment," Joanna Nathan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Afghanistan, maintained.

In 2005, Afghan security forces seized approximately 150 mt of opium and 35 mt of heroin, shut down 247 clandestine drug processing plants and arrested or detained 50 traffickers, officials said.