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Two Afghans wounded after warning shot fired
16/09/2006 2:47:43 PM
Soldiers were running a resupply convoy through Kandahar city when a vehicle got too close, a Canadian military spokesperson said Saturday.
The vehicle's occupants were not injured, but shrapnel struck two bystanders.
A 16-year-old boy walking nearby was hit in the leg, and a man on a motorcycle was hit in the stomach and neck.
The pair were taken to a local hospital and their injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The boy underwent surgery late Saturday to remove a piece of bullet from his leg.
The boy's father questioned why Canadians hurt Afghan civilians in their efforts to stay safe from suicide and roadside bombs.
"This is not the way to operate, my boy has done nothing,'' Faeed Ifaq told The Canadian Press as he waited for his son to wake up following surgery.
CP reports that Ifaq then pulled a bullet from his pocket that he claimed struck his son while he was riding a bicycle.
Canadians have fired warnings at several Afghan civilians and allies in recent months, killing a police officer, a young boy and a taxi passenger.
Military officials said, in each case, soldiers were following procedure and responding to a perceived threat.
"These do happen from time-to-time, but I'm not sure it would be fair to say there has been an increased amount of them," said navy Lt. Sue Stefko, a spokesperson for the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
"It just happens that some people do not obey the rules that we ask them to."
Officials wouldn't say what warnings were delivered before the shot was fired Saturday.
Friendly-fire
Meanwhile, sources have told The Globe and Mail that a blazing garbage fire lit by Canadian forces may have been at the centre of a friendly-fire incident that killed one soldier and wounded 30 others in Afghanistan.
The Globe quotes a military officer who says the pilot of a U.S. Warthog plane opened fire after being ordered to target a blaze at a suspected Taliban position along the Arghandab River on the morning of Sept. 4.
The fire was right in the pilot's flight path, and the pilot apparently mistook the Canadians for the intended militant target.
Sources also told The Globe the American pilot realized the error almost immediately and ceased fire. But it was too late, as cannon fire from the A-10 Warthog's seven-barrel Gatling gun had already hit the Canadian troops' encampment.
An investigation meanwhile continues into the sequence of events that led to the deadly incident that killed Pte. Mark Anthony Graham, a member of 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
Senior military officers not party to the investigation said while their knowledge is limited, a general picture of the accident is emerging. Bad coincidence and failure to achieve 100-per-cent confidence in target identification before firing contributed to the fatal fire, the sources said.
With files from The Canadian Press
16/09/2006 2:47:43 PM
Soldiers were running a resupply convoy through Kandahar city when a vehicle got too close, a Canadian military spokesperson said Saturday.
The vehicle's occupants were not injured, but shrapnel struck two bystanders.
A 16-year-old boy walking nearby was hit in the leg, and a man on a motorcycle was hit in the stomach and neck.
The pair were taken to a local hospital and their injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The boy underwent surgery late Saturday to remove a piece of bullet from his leg.
The boy's father questioned why Canadians hurt Afghan civilians in their efforts to stay safe from suicide and roadside bombs.
"This is not the way to operate, my boy has done nothing,'' Faeed Ifaq told The Canadian Press as he waited for his son to wake up following surgery.
CP reports that Ifaq then pulled a bullet from his pocket that he claimed struck his son while he was riding a bicycle.
Canadians have fired warnings at several Afghan civilians and allies in recent months, killing a police officer, a young boy and a taxi passenger.
Military officials said, in each case, soldiers were following procedure and responding to a perceived threat.
"These do happen from time-to-time, but I'm not sure it would be fair to say there has been an increased amount of them," said navy Lt. Sue Stefko, a spokesperson for the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
"It just happens that some people do not obey the rules that we ask them to."
Officials wouldn't say what warnings were delivered before the shot was fired Saturday.
Friendly-fire
Meanwhile, sources have told The Globe and Mail that a blazing garbage fire lit by Canadian forces may have been at the centre of a friendly-fire incident that killed one soldier and wounded 30 others in Afghanistan.
The Globe quotes a military officer who says the pilot of a U.S. Warthog plane opened fire after being ordered to target a blaze at a suspected Taliban position along the Arghandab River on the morning of Sept. 4.
The fire was right in the pilot's flight path, and the pilot apparently mistook the Canadians for the intended militant target.
Sources also told The Globe the American pilot realized the error almost immediately and ceased fire. But it was too late, as cannon fire from the A-10 Warthog's seven-barrel Gatling gun had already hit the Canadian troops' encampment.
An investigation meanwhile continues into the sequence of events that led to the deadly incident that killed Pte. Mark Anthony Graham, a member of 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
Senior military officers not party to the investigation said while their knowledge is limited, a general picture of the accident is emerging. Bad coincidence and failure to achieve 100-per-cent confidence in target identification before firing contributed to the fatal fire, the sources said.
With files from The Canadian Press
