Military probe finds 33 civilians killed in Afghan air strike

WASHINGTON: A US military investigation has found that 33 civilians were killed in an air strike August 22 in western Afghanistan, but that coalition forces acted in keeping with the law of war, the US Central Command said Wednesday.

"The investigation accounted for approximately 22 insurgents and 33 civilian deaths as a result of the operation in Azizabad, which differs from both the initial US-led investigation and those of other organizations in Afghanistan," the command said in a statement.

The US military has long insisted that just five to seven civilians were killed along with 30 insurgents in the raid, while Afghan officials put the number of civilian dead at 90.

Brigadier General Michael Callan, who led the investigation, also found that "coalition Forces acted based on credible intelligence, in self-defense, and in accordance with the standing rules of engagement and the law of war," the command said.

US Special Forces called for close air support after they and Afghan troops came under fire from a suspected Taliban compound in Azizabad, in the western province of Herat, on August 22. An AC-130 gunship then attacked the compound.

The incident, the latest in a series involving civilian casualties, brought angry recriminations from President Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai after Afghan and UN officials reported that 90 civilians were killed.

An initial US military investigation found that 30 insurgents and five to seven civilians were killed in the fighting.

However General David McKiernan, the top US commander in Afghanistan, asked for another investigation on September 7 after cellphone video came to light showing numerous women and children among the dead.