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Franks Cast Doubts on Raid Victims' Innocence
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
By David Ballingrud
Times Staff Writer

Franks also said Monday he did not think the incident represented a failure of U.S. intelligence, nor "trigger happy" troops.

TAMPA -- SPT
A defiant Gen. Tommy Franks said Monday the "one mistake I know of" during a January raid in which U.S. forces killed 16 Afghans was made by the Afghans themselves, who he said fired first on the American troops.

An investigation has determined that the people killed and captured during the raid were neither members of the al-Qaida terrorist network nor the Taliban political faction, but U.S. officials have thus far refused to shoulder any blame.

In a Monday briefing, Franks went so far as to cast some doubt on the innocence of the raid victims. "It's unfortunate that friendlies -- if they all can be categorized that way -- were killed," he said. "But the one mistake that I know of was that someone fired on U.S. troops doing their jobs."
(More: St. Petersburg Times Online News Source)
2002 © St. Petersburg Times.

Dan