The
case
of three children allegedly killed in a coalition strike was
reported by local officials in Helmand Provinces Nawa
district. The officials said that the children were killed in
a NATO strike on Sunday afternoon as they were gathering dung
to burn as fuel, a common practice in the desert reaches of
southern Afghanistan where there are few trees.
***
The Marja
governor said that NATO forces watched as improvised explosive
devices were being planted, and targeted the insurgents planting
them. As a result two I.E.D. planters were killed and
the shrapnel killed the three children who were wandering nearby,
he said. Other reports said that three insurgents had been killed.
A spokesman
for the international forces, Maj. Adam Wojack, said that the
coalition forces were aware of the allegations and that the
episode was being investigated. I.S.A.F. did conduct a
precision airstrike on three insurgents in Nawa district, and
the strike killed all three insurgents, he said.
None
of our reporting shows any civilian casualties or any children.