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U.S. Airstrikes Hit Home for Afghan President

Friends of Karzai among dead

Wednesday, July 3, 2002
Los Angeles Times

"Some of those who died are family members of those who fought alongside Hamid Karzai against the Taliban," said Tayeb Jawed, chief of staff to Karzai. "The president knew personally some of those who were killed. It has been a very hard couple of days," he said.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- LAT
Dozens of Afghan civilians who were reported killed during U.S. airstrikes included friends of President Hamid Karzai, and they appear to have been caught in the middle of an extensive sweep in a brewing troublespot, Afghan and American officials said yesterday.

Local Afghan officials reported that as many as 50 people may have been killed and another 150 injured in the predawn operation Monday in which a U.S. gunship responded to perceived anti-aircraft fire by strafing targets strewn across several miles.

Details remain murky, but Pentagon officials yesterday outlined a larger operation than previously depicted, involving as many as 400 coalition troops on the ground and American bombers dropping satellite-guided munitions on nearby cave complexes.

Officials would not say what prompted the operation, but indicated that intelligence information led them to return to a region considered a potential haven for al-Qaida and Taliban operatives, perhaps including ousted Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar.
(More: The Cape Cod Times News Source)
2002 © Los Angeles Times.

Dan