Civilian casualties caused by foreign forces while hunting militants have been a major source of tension between Karzai and his Western backers, and the timing of Gates’ arrival for talks with the Afghan leader could not have been worse.
Gates flew into the Afghan capital from Iraq, where he attended ceremonies to mark the end of US combat operations. That milestone has thrown the US military focus back onto Afghanistan, where violence has reached its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, despite the presence of almost 1,50,000 foreign troops, most of them American. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.
Gates will also meet General David Petraeus, commander of US. and Nato forces in Afghanistan and US ambassador Karl Eikenberry, as well as visiting US troops.
Attack shatters peace
Thursday’s attack happened in the Rostaq district of Takhar, a spokesman for the provincial governor said, a province in the north near Tajikistan that has been relatively peaceful, unlike areas in the south and east where the resurgent Taliban are most active.
Spokesman Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi said the candidate, Abdul Wahid, and some of his supporters were wounded in the air strike. He said he had been told of the strike by security officials.
A statement issued by the presidential palace some hours later said Nato aircraft had conducted the strike. “The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan... strongly condemned this attack, saying air bombardments in the villages of Afghanistan will only end up killing civilians and will not be effective in the fight against terrorism,” it said.
At about the same time, a statement issued by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force said coalition forces had conducted a precision air strike against a senior member of the militant group the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. It said coalition aircraft conducted a precision strike against one vehicle travelling in a six-car convoy. It said “initial reflections” indicated eight to 12 insurgents were killed or wounded, including a Taliban commander.