Narang night raid
Encyclopedia
The Narang night raid was a raid
on a household in the village of Ghazi Khan in the early morning hours of December 27, 2009. The operation was authorized by NATO and resulted in the death of ten Afghan civilians, most of whom were underage. The status of the deceased was initially in dispute with NATO officials claiming the dead were Taliban members found with weapons and bomb making materials, while some Afghan government officials and local tribal authorities asserted they were civilians.
According to an Afghan initial investigation led by Mr. Assadullah Wafa, the raiding party took off by helicopter from Kabul. The raiding party allegedly dragged the victims out of their beds and shot them in the head or chest. A survivor was subsequently interrogated and pictures were taken of the dead bodies. Investigations later determined that most of the victims were aged between 12 and 18 years and were enrolled in local schools.
The Afghan government claimed U.S. Forces were involved, while statements by NATO asserted U.S. and NATO forces did not participate in the shootings. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Afghan troops had not taken part in the operation Who exactly carried out the raid and shot the victims remains unclear.
strongly condemned the military operation and tasked a delegation led by Assadullah Wafa to investigate the killings. The investigation found that all of the victims were civilians and that eight of them were students between the ages of 11 and 17. A preliminary investigation by the United Nations
reinforced Afghan claims that most of the dead were schoolboys. Assadullah Wafa
who led the investigation, said: "It’s impossible they were al-Qaeda
. They were children, they were civilians, they were innocent." While a joint Afghan-NATO investigation is ongoing Hamid Karzai offered 100,000 afghanis
to the victim's families. Amid calls for prosecution of the attackers by the Afghan Security Council Karzai conceded that he didn't know who the shooters were. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Afghan troops had not taken part in the operation. NATO reiterated that the forces which conducted the attack were not under NATO command and were of a "non-military" nature.
NATO did, though, concede it authorized the operation and apologized for doing so, admitting the dead were likely civilians and that the intelligence on which the authorization was based was faulty.
and Kabul
. Hundreds were university students and some were wearing blue headbands with the words: "Stop killing us!". They burned an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama
and chanted "Death to America" and "Obama! Obama! Take your soldiers out of Afghanistan!".
Safiullah Aminzai, a student organiser, told AFP
: "Our demonstration is against those foreigners who have come to our country." "They have not brought democracy to Afghanistan but they are killing our religious scholars and children."
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
on a household in the village of Ghazi Khan in the early morning hours of December 27, 2009. The operation was authorized by NATO and resulted in the death of ten Afghan civilians, most of whom were underage. The status of the deceased was initially in dispute with NATO officials claiming the dead were Taliban members found with weapons and bomb making materials, while some Afghan government officials and local tribal authorities asserted they were civilians.
According to an Afghan initial investigation led by Mr. Assadullah Wafa, the raiding party took off by helicopter from Kabul. The raiding party allegedly dragged the victims out of their beds and shot them in the head or chest. A survivor was subsequently interrogated and pictures were taken of the dead bodies. Investigations later determined that most of the victims were aged between 12 and 18 years and were enrolled in local schools.
The Afghan government claimed U.S. Forces were involved, while statements by NATO asserted U.S. and NATO forces did not participate in the shootings. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Afghan troops had not taken part in the operation Who exactly carried out the raid and shot the victims remains unclear.
Summary of events
According to an Afghan investigation at around 1 am American troops with helicopters left Kabul and landed around 2 km away. They walked from the helicopters to the houses where they gathered the students from two rooms, into one room, and opened fire. Colonel Gross said that U.S. forces were present but did not lead the operation. A local elder, Jan Mohammed, said that three boys were killed in one room and five were handcuffed before they were shot. "I saw their school books covered in blood," he said.Investigation
President Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
strongly condemned the military operation and tasked a delegation led by Assadullah Wafa to investigate the killings. The investigation found that all of the victims were civilians and that eight of them were students between the ages of 11 and 17. A preliminary investigation by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
reinforced Afghan claims that most of the dead were schoolboys. Assadullah Wafa
Assadullah Wafa
Assadullah Wafa is the former governor of the Afghan province of Helmand, and formerly governor of Kunar Province of Afghanistan and a previous governor of the Paktia Province where he was succeeded by Hakim Taniwal. His first name is sometimes spelled "Asadullah"...
who led the investigation, said: "It’s impossible they were al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. They were children, they were civilians, they were innocent." While a joint Afghan-NATO investigation is ongoing Hamid Karzai offered 100,000 afghanis
Afghan afghani
The Afghani is the currency of Afghanistan. It is notionally subdivided into 100 pul , although there are no pul coins in circulation.-Original Afghani :...
to the victim's families. Amid calls for prosecution of the attackers by the Afghan Security Council Karzai conceded that he didn't know who the shooters were. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Afghan troops had not taken part in the operation. NATO reiterated that the forces which conducted the attack were not under NATO command and were of a "non-military" nature.
NATO did, though, concede it authorized the operation and apologized for doing so, admitting the dead were likely civilians and that the intelligence on which the authorization was based was faulty.
Afghanistan
Hundreds of Afghans rallied in the streets of JalalabadJalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
and Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. Hundreds were university students and some were wearing blue headbands with the words: "Stop killing us!". They burned an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and chanted "Death to America" and "Obama! Obama! Take your soldiers out of Afghanistan!".
Safiullah Aminzai, a student organiser, told AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
: "Our demonstration is against those foreigners who have come to our country." "They have not brought democracy to Afghanistan but they are killing our religious scholars and children."
Relatives of the victims
Farooq Abul Ajan who lost two children, four nephews and two brothers in the operation complained to President Hamid Karzai that no one has taken responsibility. He said "We wanted to know who it was." President’s spokesman, Waheed Omar, assured the relatives that the palace were “actively seeking” to bring the perpetrators to justice.See also
- Khataba raidKhataba raidThe Khataba raid was an incident in the War in Afghanistan in which five civilians, including two pregnant women and a teenage girl, were killed by U.S. forces on February 12, 2010. All were shot when U.S. Special Forces raided a house in Khataba village, outside the city of Gardez, where dozens of...
- Granai airstrikeGranai airstrikeThe Granai airstrike, sometimes called the Granai massacre, refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians, mostly children, and including women, by American aircraft on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai in Farah Province, south of Herat, Afghanistan...
- Azizabad airstrikeAzizabad airstrikeThe Azizabad airstrike took place on Friday 22 August 2008 in the village of Azizabad which is located in Shindand district, Herat Province, Afghanistan...
- Uruzgan helicopter attackUruzgan helicopter attackUruzgan helicopter attack refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians including four women and one child, another 12 were wounded...
- Deh Bala wedding party bombingDeh Bala wedding party bombing- Investigation :An investigation ordered by President Karzai and led by a nine-man commission of the senate found that 47 civilians including the bride had been killed, this was also confirmed by human rights officials....
- List of massacres in Afghanistan
External links
- Video report US-Led Forces Accused of Executing Schoolchildren in Afghanistan on Democracy Now.