The U.S. coalition said Friday its forces killed 11 'suspected militants', including 'the leader of a bomb-making cell' during an operation in southern Afghanistan.
The raid happened in Kandahar province on Thursday. Locals claimed most were ordinary shopkeepers. 'Suspected Militants' is the phrase NATO now uses for everyone they kill in their regular incompetent and reckless bomb and drone attacks. "They were civilians - most of them I knew were vendors selling stuff in the district," a resident who gave his name as Mohammed Saleh told AFP by telephone. A district official said hundreds of people had demonstrated against the U.S. operation, blocking a main road for several hours and burning tyres. President Karzai, who issues empty condemnations of these events almost daily, last week attended a memorial ceremony for three Afghans killed in an overnight raid in Khost province. Afghan officials said the three were innocent civilians; the U.S. coalition said they were militants or linked to the insurgency. This would make it stange for Karzai to be attending the funerals.
