- WASHINGTON (UPI) - A U.S.
fighter aircraft bombed a single vehicle in eastern Afghanistan March 6,
killing 14 people, including women and children, and wounding one child,
U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday.
-
- "Most of the dead were adult males but some were
women and children," Central Command stated in a written release
Tuesday.
-
- The wounded child was taken to a military hospital for
"immediate medical care" and is listed in stable
condition.
-
- The vehicle was near Shikin, a village in eastern
Afghanistan.
It was traveling from a "suspected sanctuary for al Qaida in the
vicinity
of a current operational area," Central Command stated.
-
- The people in the vehicle were believed to be linked
to al Qaida activities, Central Command stated.
-
- At a Pentagon press conference March 6, Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that al Qaida and Taliban might be traveling
or hiding with their families. He indicated that fact in no way influenced
battle plans, and gave no hint about the fighter strike on the vehicle
which occurred around 1:20 a.m. that morning.
-
- "We have assumed that where you find large numbers
of al Qaida and Taliban, that there may very well be non-combatants with
them who are family members or supporters of some kind, who are there of
their own free will, knowing who they're with and who they're supporting
and who they're encouraging and who they're assisting," Rumsfeld
said.
-
- Shikin is on the edge of the area where the battle known
as Operation Anaconda has been going on since March 2.
-
- "We're at a point where we had enough information
and enough clarity to provide the information we've provided," said
Central Command spokesman Maj. Brad Lowell Tuesday.
-
- Lowell said Central Command still believes the vehicle
contained al Qaida members, despite the presence of women and
children.
-
- "I don't think we are saying we made a mistake.
This vehicle was traveling from a suspected sanctuary," Lowell
said.
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rights reserved.
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