Karzai Office - Victims Were Civilians Once Again

KABUL: A probe by Afghan officials has concluded that five people killed by NATO-led troops in a raid in northern Afghanistan this week were civilians, President Hamid Karzai’s office said on Saturday. The deaths came during a raid in the Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan on Monday. The local provincial governor said at the time that those killed were civilians, but the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said they were terrorists. Karzai then ordered an investigation by provincial officials. A spokesman for ISAF said it could not immediately comment on the findings. “The findings of this delegation, which is based on meetings with villagers and statements by eyewitness says that five civilians were killed,” a statement from Karzai’s office said. “The president of Afghanistan... strongly condemns the killing of civilians in this operation and emphasises once again that killing civilians will not help the fight against terrorism but will hinder it,” the statement added. From AFP.