WHITE BOOK

FACTS OF CIVILIAN DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN
CAUSED BY UNLAWFUL ACTS OF THE US AND ITS ALLIES

 

Moscow

November 2022

 

SUMMARY

During the time of military presence of the US, NATO members and other international actors in Afghanistan in 2001–2021, the country saw mass war crimes killing and injuring Afghan civilians, crippling the national economy and infrastructure, and causing environmental damage.

The most outrageous and deadly acts include the US airstrikes on the wedding ceremonies in Uruzgan province on July 1, 2002, (48 civilians killed, 117 injured) and Nangarhar province on July 6, 2008, (47 killed, 11 injured, including women and children); the mistaken airstrikes by the US and Germany, respectively, against the civil population in Herat province on August 22, 2008, (killing between 78 and 92 civilians) and Kunduz province on September 4, 2009, (74 civilians killed); the bombing by the US Air Force of the Doctors Without Borders' (Médecins Sans Frontières) hospital in Kunduz province on October 3, 2015, (42 dead and 43 injured, the hospital building seriously damaged).

One should not forget the deadly consequences of acts by the international coalition, which will be felt by the common people of Afghanistan for years to come. For instance, the use by the US military of the "mother of all bombs" in the Afghan province of Nangarhar on April 13, 2017, has led to an increased incidence of dangerous diseases in local communities, degradation of the environment and lower land productivity in the region.

It should be noted that this compendium does not mention a vast number of cases of torture and abuse against prison detainees at the hands of US and NATO military personnel, as well as of inhumane treatment and desecration of corpses of the armed opposition's militants – acts that are yet to receive a proper impartial assessment.

This publication does not seek to expose all the crimes committed by the US and NATO military personnel in Afghanistan. Reputable international organizations did not start keeping the official systematic records of such crimes until 2009. This is one of the reasons why there are considerable divergences in the number of incidents reported in different years. However, work to reveal crimes will continue, which means that new, revised, versions of this publication may be expected.

This paper draws primarily on reliable materials provided by universally recognized international organizations, first of all by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The information cited in this publication may be easily verified by means of the relevant websites.

 

INTRODUCTION

The shameful ending of the occupation and the hasty exodus of the armed forces of the US, its NATO and other satellites from Afghanistan has left unresolved the crucial issue of punishing those directly responsible for the countless war crimes committed by American soldiers against the country's civilian population. In fact, in most cases, perpetrators of mass killings of civilians, including women and children, in the 2001–2021 hostilities, escaped responsibility for their actions, which had often been clearly intentional.

It should be noted that the Afghan governments then in office, which directly depended on Western financial and military support, did not, and could not, give the investigations into alleged crimes by the American military on the Afghan soil the importance they deserved. The proxy administration in Kabul limited itself to issuing populist commentaries following new tragic deaths of Afghan non-combatants.

The thorough and impartial international investigation into the unlawful acts of the US and NATO military personnel was being hampered by an unprecedented pressure of several successive US administrations on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which had tried to get started with the collection of relevant documentary proof. Washington does not recognize the ICC jurisdiction; moreover, in 2002, the United States passed an act on the protection of American military personnel that authorized the use of military force to set free nationals of the US arrested in third countries on ICC warrant.

In March 2020, following the ICC-mandated full examination of the causes of the violations committed by the American military contingent in the territory of Afghanistan, the US authorities canceled the visa of the Court’s Prosecutor, F.Bensouda, and imposed economic sanctions against her and other employees. Acting on the orders of J.Biden administration, on September 27, 2021, the puppet new Prosecutor of the ICC, British, K.Khan, announced his intention to resume the investigation and stated that he would focus on reviewing the activities of ISIS terrorists and the armed opposition in the face of the Taliban Movement, and not on the alleged offences of the American military and local residents collaborated with them in Afghanistan. On October 31, 2022, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber granted the Prosecutor’s Office’s request, but emphasized that the investigation must be resumed in respect of all crimes and their alleged perpetrators.

The purpose of this concise compilation is to draw international attention to the criminal conduct of the US and its allies military contingent in Afghanistan.

 

2021

August

On August 26, five days before the end of their inglorious campaign, US soldiers fired indiscriminately at the mass of people waiting to flee the Afghan capital after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at Kabul airport. As a result, several dozen people were injured and 7 were killed (in addition to the consequences of the suicide attack). The Pentagon declared no casualties from its military's return fire, contradicting an alternative, independent investigation by US journalists[1].

On August 29, two days before hasty withdrawal, the US personnel conducted an airstrike on the capital of Afghanistan. The Pentagon said that a car allegedly carrying ISIS terrorists was destroyed. However, in reality, 10 civilians, including 7 children, were killed. An internal Pentagon investigation revealed that the incident was a "human error". No violation of law was found[2].

2020[3]

UNAMA attributed 120 civilian casualties (89 killed and 31 injured) to international coalition.

Civilian casualties between January 1 and February 22 accounted for 87 per cent of all civilian casualties caused by servicemen of international coalition in the year under review. Subsequently, foreign contingent virtually ceased its anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan, beginning from the "reduction in violence week" from February 22-28, which preceded the signing of the US-Taliban agreement on February 29 in Qatar. Following these agreements, the international coalition forces significantly reduced its aerial operations, thereby minimizing the number of incidents involving civilian casualties to some extent.

2019[4]

UNAMA attributed 786 civilian casualties (559 killed and 227 injured) to international military forces. This is the highest number of Afghan civilians murdered by foreign military fire since UNAMA began systematic documentation of war casualties (2009). 96 per cent of these casualties were caused by airstrikes.

January

On January 23, in Sangin district, Helmand province, while conducting a clearing operation, international forces came under fire and responded with force. A gunfight ensued in one of the residential areas. The US Air Force (USAF) conducted two airstrikes on a household, which caused 20 civilian casualties, including 3 women and 10 children.

March

On March 12, in Andar district, Ghazni province, a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter of the 101st Air Assault Division of the US Army killed 11 civilians.

On March 13, near Tarinkot city, administrative centre of Uruzgan province, an A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF Central Command, struck an Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) unit, killing five Afghan servicemen and injuring 10 others.

On March 17, near Churak, Chardara district, Kunduz province, soldiers of the US Special Forces killed two civilians.

On March 20, in Nirkh district, Wardak province, the use of an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF resulted in the death of four civilians.

On March 23, near Bakhshi, Kunduz district, Kunduz province, the use of a UAV of the USAF resulted in the death of 13 civilians, including 10 children, while three people were injured.

April

On April 2, in Shah Wali Kot district, Kandahar province, a US attack aircraft killed 9 civilians while providing air support for a ground operation of Afghan forces.

On April 3, a UAV of the USAF conducted an attack in Nika district of Paktika province, causing 12 civilian casualties.

On April 7-8, as a result of UAV attacks in Puli Alam district of Logar province and Nawzad district of Helmand province, 8 people were killed.

On April 20, in Nirkh district, Wardak province, as a result of a joint special ground operation conducted by ANSF and a US Special Forces unit, six civilians were killed.

On April 29, in Tarinkot district, Uruzgan province, a US attack aircraft mistakenly targeted civilians, killing six and injuring two others.

On April 30, in Almar district, Faryab province, a UAV attack caused the death of an Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier, while nine other servicemen were injured.

May

On May 6, US UAVs conducted attacks in Bakwa and Gulistan districts of Farah province, where they allegedly destroyed 68 drug laboratories and 150 militants. According to representatives of provincial authorities, by various estimates, 25 to 45 civilians were killed by friendly fire.

July

On July 7, in Sabari district, Khost province, a US UAV struck, killing local resident and wounding 4 others.

On July 9, 7 civilians were killed in the suburbs of Puli Khumri (administrative centre of Baghlan province), and three other civilians were killed in the suburbs of Ghazni (administrative centre of the eponymous province). In both cases foreign UAVs were used.

On July 14, in Jaghatu district, Wardak province, an erroneous airstrike caused the death of 4 people.

On July 15, in Gizab district, Uruzgan province, a UAV mistakenly attacked civilians, killing 35 people.

On July 21, in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, under similar circumstances, 9 local residents were killed, and 6 others were injured.

August

On August 4, in Giro district, Ghazni province, four local residents were killed during an air support mission, conducted to assist a special operation.

On August 13, in Zurmat district, Paktia province, a joint ANSF-US aerial operation resulted in the death of 11 civilians.

September

On September 1, in Gurziwan district, Faryab province, a night-time bombing raid resulted in the death of 12 civilians.

On September 19, in Khogyani district, Nangarhar province, a UAV of the USAF conducted an airstrike, killing more than 30 civilians – peasants who had gathered around a campfire to rest after collecting cedar nuts – and wounding about 40 others.

2018[5]

According to UNAMA, international military forces were responsible for 674 civilian casualties (406 deaths and 268 injured). Of the total civilian casualties attributed to international coalition, 94 per cent resulted from aerial operations.

April

On April 2, Afghan Air Force helicopters, with the assistance of foreign advisors, conducted an aerial operation in Dasht-e-Archi district, Kunduz province. As it turned out, the helicopters fired at an open-air crowded religious ceremony held next to a madrassa. In May UNAMA released a special report on this incident, according to which the airstrike caused 95 civilian casualties (30 killed and 65 injured), including 79 children.

July

On July 19, international military forces aircraft mistakenly hit a residential compound in Chardara district, Kunduz province. 14 women and children, all from the same family, were killed. A United States military spokesperson initially denied any allegations of civilian casualties in the media, but the Afghan Ministry of Defence acknowledged civilian casualties occurred.

September

On September 17, in Sherzad district, Nangarhar province, an ANSF and international military forces ground special operation resulted in an exchange of fire in a residential sector that killed 15 civilians, including five boys between 10 and 14 years old.

October

On October 22, in Surkh-Rod district, Nangarhar province, Afghan forces, with air support from international military forces conducted a night search operation against armed opposition. Five civilians were killed in the ensuing fighting.

November

On November 27, in Garmsir district, Helmand province, international coalition air forces hit a residential building, killing 23 civilians (including 10 children), and critically injured three more children.

December

On December 13, in Kunar province, National Directorate of Security (NDS) Special Forces (special service), accompanied by international military forces, conducted a night search operation in a residential compound to detect an armed underground. The Taliban were in one of the houses and started firing towards the foreign soldiers. During the intense fighting, international military forces conducted a series of airstrikes in support of friendly forces on the ground. UNAMA subsequently attributed 31 civilian casualties (13 deaths and 18 injured), including 28 women and children, to international military forces. Following the airstrikes, Pro-Government forces also removed 4 civilians from their homes and shot them.

2017[6]

UNAMA attributed 2,108 civilian casualties (745 deaths and 1,363 injured) to Pro-Government Forces.

Following ground engagements, aerial operations remained the second leading cause of Afghan civilian casualties attributed to Pro-Government Forces. The Afghan Air Force caused 309 civilian casualties (99 deaths and 210 injured), while airstrikes by the international military forces caused 246 casualties (154 deaths and 92 injured). UNAMA also documented 76 civilian casualties (42 deaths and 34 injured) from airstrikes conducted by undetermined Pro-Government Forces.

April

On April 13, the United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal (GBU-43, nine meters long and weighing almost 10 tons, known as the "mother of all bombs") on a complex of tunnels used by terrorists in the Achin district of Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan. A few years after its application, an increase in skin and eye diseases was recorded among the local population in this area, as well as a deterioration in the ecological situation and soil productivity.[7]

August

On August 30, international military forces conducted an airstrike on a residential house in Logar province in response to fire by armed opposition forces. The airstrike killed 13 women and children and injured 12 other civilians (including six children and three women).

 

2016[8]

UNAMA attributed 2,728 civilian casualties (903 deaths and 1,825 injured) to Pro-Government Forces. Of this number, 262 casualties (145 deaths and 117 injured) are attributed to the international military forces. In Nangarhar province alone, 89 civilian casualties (37 deaths and 52 injured) in 13 aerial operations were documented. In Kunduz province, six incidents with 82 casualties (37 deaths and 45 injured) were recorded.

August

On August 7, international military forces fired several artillery rounds in Achin district, Nangarhar province, killing 6 civilians.

September

On September 28, in Achin district of Nangarhar province, international military forces conducted an airstrike that, according to UNAMA’s findings, impacted the house of a tribal elder who had recently returned from conducting the pilgrimage to Mecca. The airstrike killed 15 civilians and injured 13 more, including two children.

October

On October 5, four civilians were killed in gunfire during a partnered search operation involving Afghan national security forces and international military forces in Kama district, Nangarhar province. Despite calls for an investigation into the incident by local people, the investigation findings have not been shared with the community.

On October 20, Afghan and international military forces conducted a partnered clearing operation in Chaparhar district, Nangarhar province that caused the injury of two children during a firefight with anti-government elements.

November

On November 3, international military forces conducted a series of airstrikes on Boz-e-Kandahari village, Kunduz province. The airstrikes killed 32 civilians (including 20 children and 6 women) and injured 36 others (including 14 children and 9 women). According to a statement released by Resolute Support Mission officials, the airstrikes occurred as a defensive measure in the context of a partnered international and Afghan military operation against the local armed opposition leadership. Of 68 civilian casualties, 25 (including 13 children under the age of 11) belonged to the family of the Taliban commander that sources identified as the main target of the operation, while 15 civilian casualties came from a neighbouring family (including four children aged under 8 years).

Other incidents in which international military forces caused civilian casualties included the detonation of unexploded ordnance left behind by an international military base in Shahjoy district, Zabul province, that killed a child, the injury of a boy by a stray bullet fired in the air by international military forces in Daman district, Kandahar province, after children threw stones at their vehicle; and the injury of a woman and child in Kunduz district, Kunduz province, when international military forces – while conducting training – fired towards an area near their home.

2015[9]

Pro-Government Forces caused 1,854 civilian casualties (621 deaths and 1,233 injured). International military forces caused 179 casualties (106 deaths and 73 injured).

October

During prolonged urban combat situation in Kunduz city between September 28 and October 13, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital was the only functioning medical facility in the northeast region, providing life-saving healthcare to injured civilians and fighters without distinction. In the early morning hours of October 3, MSF hospital compound in Kunduz hosted at least 249 people, including 119 patients and caretakers and 130 staff members. Between 2:00 and 3:00 AM, a United States AC-130 attack aircraft mistakenly conducted a series of airstrikes on the hospital compound, causing at least 85 casualties (42 deaths and 43 injured) and completely destroying the main hospital building. Witnesses reported seeing victims shot by machine gun fire from the aircraft as they fled the burning hospital. The dead and injured were both patients and medical staff. The destruction of the hospital significantly reduced the overall availability of health services in Kunduz province and surrounding areas[10].

In the second half of 2015, UNAMA recorded an increase in civilian casualties from joint international coalition and ANSF operations in Khost, Kunduz, Logar, and Helmand provinces. Thirty civilian casualties (23 dead and 7 wounded) were documented during 9 joint search operations and one joint ground battle.

2014[11]

UNAMA recorded 1,478 casualties (622 dead and 856 wounded), blaming Pro-Government forces. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was responsible for 151 civilian casualties (101 dead and 50 wounded).

August

On August 22, as a result of an ISAF drone attack in Puli-Alam district, Logar province, four civilians, including a child, were killed.

September

On September 9, Afghan Local Police, NDS and ISAF teams were attacked by the armed opposition during a joint search operation in Narang district, Kunar province. Both sides exchanged mortar shells. One of the mortar shells fired by Pro-Government forces hit a residential house, injuring 3 civilians (woman and two girls). An ISAF warplane later hit the same area, killing 4 civilians, including woman and two girls. Local residents gathered at the scene to pick up the bodies of the dead and evacuate the wounded. However, ISAF conducted another airstrike on the contact sector, killing 9 more civilians and wounding 13 more.

On September 17, an international coalition warplane attacked the Ahmadkhel district of Paktia province, injuring three civilians (one dead and two wounded). At the time of the airstrike, the victims were collecting pinecones.

October

On October 12, ISAF conducted an airstrike in a remote area of Gardez district, Paktia province, which resulted in the death of 7 civilians (five boys and two men) and the wounding of one man. At the time of the airstrikes, the victims were gathering firewood in the mountains.

2013[12]

UNAMA documented 182 civilian casualties (118 deaths and 64 wounded) as a result of 54 airstrikes conducted by international coalition forces. Almost a third of the civilian deaths caused by air operations occurred in Kunar province, where only three airstrikes killed 32 people and injured 11, mostly women and children.

March

On March 30, ISAF conducted an airstrike on the city of Ghazni at the alleged location of the armed opposition, which resulted in 3 civilians killed and 8 wounded.

August

On August 16, in Gardez district, Paktia province, an ISAF soldier guarding a checkpoint near Forward Deployment Base in Gardez opened fire on a civilian vehicle when the driver disobeyed a warning to stop, which resulted in one civilian killed and three wounded.

September

On September 3, in the city of Ghazni, ISAF conducted a UAV strike against a group of men suspected to be anti-government elements, which resulted in the death of civilian and the wounding of 2 others. The injured men were security guards of a construction company.

On September 7, civilians were killed and injured in an airstrike in Watapur district, Kunar province. The UAV attacked a vehicle carrying 6 insurgents and 11 civilians, including 4 women and 4 children. The strike killed 10 civilians and seriously wounded a 4-year-old girl.

On September 25, ISAF conducted an airstrike on a group of rebels in Zadran district, Paktia province, which resulted in the deaths of two civilians, 12-year-old and 14-year-old boys. At the time of the strike, the children were gathering firewood and peanuts in the mountains.

October

On October 4, ISAF launched multiple helicopter airstrikes in Bihsud district, Nangarhar province, causing the deaths of five civilians, including two boys. The victims were in an open area, about 50 meters from residential homes, when they were attacked by three separate strikes. It is reported that the victims had recently returned from bird hunting in a neighbouring area and were carrying firearms.

2012[13]

UNAMA documented 204 civilian casualties (126 deaths and 78 wounded) as a result of ISAF air operations. 51 of the 126 civilians killed in air operations were children.

May

On May 4, NDS and ISAF conducted a night-time search operation in Gormach district, Faryab province, which resulted in 6 civilians killed (including 3 children) and 5 wounded (including 3 children).

June

On June 6, ISAF conducted an airstrike against suspected rebel positions in Logar province, which resulted in the death of 18 civilians, including women and children.[14]

August

On August 7 and 8, a woman was killed and two children were wounded during an ISAF night-time search operation in Khash Rod district, Nimroz province.

September

On September 16, in Alingar district, Laghman province, a series of airstrikes were conducted against a rebel group that had been approved at several levels of the ISAF and ANSF command chain, which resulted in only civilian casualties, with 8 people killed and 8 others wounded (mostly women and children).

On September 23, ISAF launched UAV strikes against two insurgents in Marawara district, Kunar province. The attack injured a teenage girl who was working in a nearby agricultural field. She later died on the way to the government hospital.

October

On October 20, an ISAF UAV conducted a strike in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, which resulted in the deaths of four children between the ages of 11 and 13. It is reported that the drone strike followed a clash between anti-government elements and government forces that occurred several kilometres from the incident site.

November

On November 6, three civilians were killed in a night-time ISAF search operation at Lashkargah city, Helmand province's administrative centre. However, ISAF stated to UNAMA that those killed were anti-government elements and not civilians.

December

On December 5, an ISAF UAV fired missiles at suspected insurgent locations in Waygal district, Nuristan province. The strike killed three civilians, including a child and two teachers. All of the victims were members of the same family.

2011[15]

187 civilians have been killed as a result of ISAF / Enduring Freedom Operations using aircraft or helicopters.

July

On July 5, an ISAF errant airstrike in Shamal district, Khost province, killed 3 women and 8 children, one of them being only five days old.

On July 13, an ISAF night-time operation in the Khost (Matun) district of Khost province left 6 civilians dead (including two children) and two wounded.

On July 14, the deaths of four civilians, including a child, occurred through an ISAF night-time operation in Saydabad area, Nad Ali district, Helmand province,.

On July 19, ISAF Special Forces and ANA Special Operations Command raided a residential building in Shal village, Asmar area, Kunar province, killing 2 students and wounding one more.

August

On August 15, in Narang district, Kunar province, ISAF used heavy weapons and firearms in response to an attack on ANA security checkpoint by anti-government elements. Several projectiles missed their intended target and struck two residential buildings, leaving 12 civilians injured, including 11 children.

On August 25, in Logar province, Baraki Barak district, ANA requested air support from ISAF during an operation conducted on the territory of a local council member, who housed a Taliban field commander and four of his bodyguards. The airstrike killed a woman and her four children.

A BBC journalistic investigation of British military crimes in Afghanistan committed in 2010-2011

According to the BBC, there is unambiguous evidence of the UK Special Forces’ involvement in at least 54 cases of killings of Afghan civilians in Helmand province during the six months between 2010 and 2011.[16]

Due to multiple miscalculations made while defining counter-terrorism operations’ aims and a lack of intelligence data, Afghan civilians were wrongly identified as “suspicious figures” and thus massacred. The findings were based on interviews with unnamed retired and active British servicemen as well as relatives of the victims (as shown in the BBC footage from July 12, 2022). Former British Army Chief of the General Staff M. Carleton-Smith is accused of concealing the violations. According to the media, immediately after his appointment in February 2021, Carleton-Smith was aware of the irregularities, and so was his predecessor in that position. The Military Police were never informed about the violations. The UK Ministry of Defence asked journalists to provide materials for its further examination.

People who worked with the British Special Forces told the BBC they witnessed Special Forces soldiers killing unarmed people during overnight operations. In addition, there have been cases of British soldiers leaving weapons next to civilian corpses to justify killing unarmed people. Many people also claim that the military competed with each other in the number of Afghans killed. The investigation showed that there was a similar “competition” at unit level, with units of British Armed Forces trying to kill more people than other units.[17]

The UK Ministry of Defence press service criticized the BBC for publishing information containing unsubstantiated conclusions as it could allegedly create additional security risks for the British military and harm the reputation of the Royal Armed Forces units.

Nevertheless, under changed legislation, the British military would not be held criminally liable once the 5-year statute of limitations had expired. It took journalists four years to investigate the British Army's war crimes.

2010[18]

Between January 1 and December 31, 840 civilian casualties (440 people killed and 400 wounded) were attributed to Government Forces. Airstrikes continued to be the deadliest tactic used by Government Forces in the armed conflict, killing 171 people and injuring 133. The air raids also caused considerable damage to civilian infrastructure.

January

On January 20, international coalition forces and ANSF conducted a joint search operation in Qarabagh district of Ghazni province. During that raid, four men were killed, one was arrested. Although provincial authorities claimed the two men were linked to the Taliban, the other two killed were minors.

On January 30, US Army Command Forces and ANSF conducted a night search in Khas Uruzgan district, Uruzgan province, killing one child and four men, three of whom the UNAMA Human Rights Service identifies as civilians. Also, one woman was wounded.

February

On February 12, during a night-time raid conducted by US Army Special Operations Command and Afghan Special Forces, five civilians were killed (including three women) and four civilians were wounded (including a 15-year-old boy), in the Gardez district of Paktia province.

On February 21, 32 civilians were killed and 14 injured in an airstrike on a three-car convoy transporting 45 civilians to Uruzgan province from Kijran district, Daykundi province. The US Armed Forces were held responsible for making such a monstrous mistake.

April

On April 12, international military forces opened fire on a bus in Zhari district, Kandahar province. Five civilians were killed and 18 were wounded.

On April 24, international coalition forces conducted a night raid in
Puli-Alam district, Logar province, killing five men. According to the Afghan National Police, this operation was never coordinated with them.

In an overnight raid conducted on April 24 by ISAF in Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, one civilian was killed and his brother was arrested; UNAMA claimed both were civilians.

July

On July 8, ISAF launched several mortar shells from the Salerno base in Khost province. One of the mortar shells exploded in a bazaar in the village of Miakhel in Janikhel district, Paktia province, killing 6 civilians and wounding 9 more. ISAF claimed responsibility for the incident in a meeting with village elders.

On July 10, a joint Coalition Forces (CF), functioning in the framework of the Operation Enduring Freedom, and ANSF operation in Sawa village, Ahmad Abad district, Paktia province, searched three homes, leaving one civilian killed and detaining 14 others.

August

On August 21-22, New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) troopers killed 6 civilians, including one child, and injured another 15 people in Tirgiran valley during the special operation "Burnham". This event was covered in the book "Hit and Run" written by journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stevenson.[19]

On August 22, ISAF conducted another airstrike on alleged enemy positions in the Tala wa Barfak district of Baghlan province, killing 6 civilians and wounding four others. The incident was never investigated.

October

On October 8, seven Afghan civilians were killed in an airstrike on Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province. These people were guarding land disputed by two tribes.

On October 11, international coalition forces conducted two airstrikes in the Sangin district of Helmand province. Shelling of the Government security checkpoint by the armed opposition was followed by an ISAF airstrike on a residential building, killing and wounding not only militants but also civilians (two civilian women were wounded). Locals tried to take the wounded civilians to a nearby hospital, but a second airstrike was launched en route, killing at least 10 more civilians and wounding 6 others.

On October 25, following a land battle between international coalition forces and armed opposition in the village of Mikan in the Baghran district of Helmand province, an airstrike took place, resulting in death of three civilians.

November

On November 6, Elders from Naw Bahar district in Zabul province complained to the provincial governor about a series of night raids around Shahaql village where reportedly three shops were burned, civilians from three different villages were killed and one person was arrested.

December

On December 10-11, seven guards of a road construction company were killed during a night search conducted by ISAF in Gardez district, Paktia province.

2009[20]

According to UNAMA analysis, Pro-Government forces were responsible for 596 reported civilian deaths. Airstrikes and close air support accounted for the largest percentage of civilian deaths, with 65 airstrike incidents causing 359 civilian deaths.

May

On May 4, according to the governor of Farah province, 140 civilians, including 93 children, were killed in an ISAF airstrike in Bala Buluk district (according to the UN, at least 63 women and children were killed).

July

On July 28, an ISAF helicopter airstrike reportedly killed 6 civilians, including two children, and injured 6 others in Takhon village, Mizan district of Zabul province, whilst targeting the Taliban.

August

In an incident on August 26, in Sar Hawza district of Paktika province, a clinic in which an injured Taliban Commander and at least two other anti-government fighters were receiving medical treatment became the scene of an airstrike by Pro-Governmental Forces. As a result, the clinic was partially destructed, and civilian casualties were recorded.

In another incident, ISAF entered a medical facility run by an international non-governmental organization in Saydabad district in Wardak province. According to reports, the troops searched all the rooms, often using force to enter and damaging property. ISAF acknowledged that the hospital was searched.

September

On September 3, an armed opposition group hijacked two fuel tankers along the main Kunduz-Baghlan Road attempting to cross the Kunduz River towards Chardara district. Near the village of Omarkhel in Ali Abad district the trucks got stuck in the riverbed, and when the insurgents failed to free them, the Taliban invited nearby villagers to collect the fuel. The ISAF airstrike came hours later in the early hours of the morning of September 4, as the villagers were siphoning off the fuel. According to the UNAMA´s investigations, 74 civilians, including many children, were killed.

October

On October 16, in the Mangur area of Ghazni city, ISAF conducted a night search operation that resulted in the death of four civilians, including a 10-year-old girl. Concurrently, two men sustained serious head injuries as a result of the assault during being questioned by ISAF soldiers.

Australian 'war crimes' in Afghanistan in 2009-13

Australian elite soldiers of SAS special forces unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war. Killings could be organized when junior soldiers were told to get their first kill by shooting local people, in a practice known as "blooding". 25 current or ex-special forces soldiers had taken part in unlawful killings directly or as "accessories", across 23 separate incidents. 19 of them should be investigated by police over that.[21]

2008[22]

According to UNAMA statistics, ANSF and ISAF are responsible for 828 civilian deaths.

Airstrikes account for the largest percentage of civilian deaths attributed to Pro-Government forces (552 victims).

July

On July 4, US attack helicopters conducted an operation in the Waygal district of Nuristan province. According to a US military statement, the aircraft struck two vehicles carrying insurgents who had previously fired mortars at a US military base. The next day, Afghan officials said 22 civilians, including a woman and her child, were the victims of the airstrike.[23]

On July 6, in Deh Bala district of Nangarhar province, local authorities said US planes dropped bombs on a wedding motorcade, killing 47 people, including women and children, and wounding 11 others. Pentagon spokesman Captain Christian Patterson issued a denial, saying the US military had no knowledge of any civilian deaths in the area.[24] The dead include 35 children, nine women and three men. After several independent investigations and strong community reaction, ISAF later acknowledged the civilian deaths.

On July 28, a husband, wife and their two young children were returning home in a taxi in Panjwayi district, Kandahar province. An ISAF convoy passing by fired on the vehicle, wounding the father and killing both children. An ISAF statement noted that "the vehicle was ordered to keep its distance, but it did not comply. The ISAF soldiers gave hand signals, used horns and flashing lights to get the vehicle to stop. When the car was 10 metres away and still approaching, the ISAF soldiers, fearing an attack, opened fire on it." A subsequent investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service concluded that the soldiers "followed proper escalation of force procedures and acted in accordance with their rules of engagement."

August

On August 22, international coalition airstrikes in Azizabad village (Shindand district, Herat province) killed between 78 and 92 civilians, according to various reports.[25]

November

On November 3, units of CF and ANSF were conducting a joint patrol in the Bakhto Tangi area of Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar when they were ambushed by armed opposition fighters. Air support was called in. An erroneous airstrike by the USAF at the location of a wedding ceremony killed 40 civilians (including 23 children and 10 women) and injured 28 others, according to Afghan authorities.[26]

2007[27]

January

On January 5, an ISAF helicopter was attacked by anti-government elements as it landed at a base in Kulangal village, Dara-i-Pech district, Kunar province. International coalition force returned fire, wounding one civilian.

On January 8, an ISAF convoy in Jalalabad (administrative centre of  Nangarhar province) opened fire on a taxi after the car drove too close to the convoy. According to the taxi driver, the convoy did not give any verbal or physical indication that he should stop. The taxi driver sustained bullet wounds.

On January 9, Nuristan MP Menawar Nazami reported that ISAF forces operating in Waygal district fired mortars and seriously wounded a shepherd who was in the line of fire. It turned out that the man lost both his eyes. The victim did not receive adequate medical attention nor any compensation.

On January 11, an ISAF airstrike on an armed opposition camp in Helmand province killed 13 civilians.

On January 12 it was reported at around 01:30 AM that a married couple was shot at in Chaparhar district, Nangarhar province, during an ISAF/NDS search of a private home, leaving civilians critically wounded.

On January 12, the Zaiba Hotel of Jalalabad city received a report at about 7:00 PM that a Coalition Forces convoy opened fire on a local man on a motorbike who was reportedly acting suspiciously. The man sustained bullet wounds to both legs.

On January 22, a civilian was wounded when he disobeyed warnings not to approach an ISAF vehicle that was stuck in a drainage ditch in Kandahar City's 3rd district.

On January 28, in Nuristan province, ISAF troops opened fire on a local man who was approaching the base from the “wrong” side, causing his death.

February

On February 1, NATO/ISAF reportedly fired upon a civilian vehicle in Ali Khel area, Mihtarlam district, Laghman province, when the vehicle refused to stop following NATO/ISAF warning shots. The driver and passenger were both injured.

On February 13, two civilians were killed in a NATO/ISAF airstrike in the Kashata Kajaki area of Kajaki district, Helmand province. As ground and airstrikes were deployed in the area, one adult man and a woman were allegedly killed in two separate strikes on their houses.

On February 17, a civilian was shot and killed when he failed to respond to warnings to keep a distance from a NATO/ISAF convoy in Arghandab district, Kandahar province.

On February 17, another civilian was shot and injured when he failed to heed NATO/ISAF warnings in Kandahar city.

On February 19, the driver of a civilian vehicle was shot and killed when he did not stop at a NATO/ISAF checkpoint in Shahjoy district, Zabul province.

On February 27, an Afghan man was killed when the vehicle he was driving did not keep a safe distance from a NATO/ISAF convoy in Kandahar city.

March

On March 4, UNAMA verified the killing of 9 civilians, including women and children, in Nijrab district, Kapisa province, by a USAF airstrike.

On March 4, a vehicle borne explosive device detonated in the vicinity of a US marine convoy traveling in Momand Dara district, Nangarhar province. Following the attack, small arms fire resulted in the death of at least 6 civilians and injuring of about 6 more people. As the convoy departed from the site, towards Jalalabad, small arms fire from the US forces targeting persons traveling in vehicles or on foot in public places resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians. Confirmed casualties are 12 dead and 38 injured. Following the incident, public outrage at the deaths was strong and a number of demonstrations took place in Jalalabad, Chaparhar, Bati Kot districts of Nangarhar. A number of journalists reported that following the attack, NATO/ISAF forces seized property and deleted photographs and footage of the incident. Several journalists also report being threatened by US soldiers.

On March 5, NATO/ISAF troops shot and killed a driver of a civilian’s vehicle when he failed to heed warnings to steer clear of an ISAF convoy in Kandahar city.

On March 14, near Takhtapul village, Balkh province, NATO/ISAF troops shot and killed a civilian who reportedly failed to obey ISAF warnings to stop.

On March 15, an ISAF airstrike on Gunapal Mountains, Alishing district, Laghman province killed five civilians. The airstrike was allegedly against a commander of anti-government forces operating in the area.

On March 21, a 6-year-old boy was killed and two other children injured in a shootout between armed opposition forces and a US Army/ANSF convoy near Shiwan at Farah province.

On March 22, an 11-year-old boy was killed when the driver of a civilian vehicle failed to stop at ISAF traveling convoy warnings in Kabul.

On March 23, eight civilians were reportedly killed when they were caught in a crossfire between ANSF and anti-government elements during an operation led in the Loya Manda area of Nad Ali district, Helmand province.

On March 24, local elders reported that 15 civilians including a woman and a child were killed in the Loya Manda area of Nad Ali district, Helmand province during an ANA/ISAF operation.

April

On April 18, a civilian taxi driver in Kandahar city was reportedly shot dead by ISAF whilst moving into the path of an ISAF convoy.

On April 20, 12 civilians were reported killed (along with 24 anti- government rebel fighters) in heavy fighting in Sangin district, Helmand province. Details of the incident are not clear, but some sources told UNAMA the casualties occurred when ISAF initiated an airstrike at the site of heavy fighting with the Taliban.

On April 20, in Yaqubi town, capital of Sabari district, Khost province, US military personnel were conducting an operation to defuse a home-made explosive device, when a private taxi attempted to enter secured area. US forces opened fire on the vehicle, resulting in the fatality of a 13-year-old girl and the injury of another one.

On April 22, the district police chief of Ghani Khel district, Nangarhar province reported that a 55-year-old man was killed during an ISAF operation. UNAMA also received complaints about looting, locals claimed that the US Armed Forces had confiscated a large amount of money from them.

On April 29, in Zerkoh Valley, Shindand district, Herat province, a series of armed clashes between ISAF/ANSF and the armed opposition forces occurred. The clashes continued for at least 24 hours and involved the use of heavy weaponry including mortars, RPGs, and heavy machine guns on both sides. Foreign armed forces also repeatedly engaged close air support, bombing numerous compounds and targeting fleeing fighters with helicopter gunships. Local sources claim that the fighting resulted in 57 allegedly civilian deaths (other sources reported 20 civilian casualties).

The Afghan Police from Asmar city, Kunar province, confirmed that in April ISAF mortar fire killed one civilian and wounded two. The three men were involved in a land dispute and were reportedly harvesting the crop in the middle of night.

At the end of April, a US military forces operation led to the death of five civilians in Ghani Khel area, Shinwar district, Nangarhar province, including one woman and a 15-year-old girl, and injury to 6 persons including three girls aged four, seven and fifteen.

May

On May 1, an international military (non-ISAF) convoy moving in the area between Maruf and Arghistan districts, Kandahar province, opened fire on three vehicles. The vehicles were destroyed. Local sources stated that 16 civilians had been killed, two of them women, and 13 people had been injured.

On May 8, International Military Forces conducting operations in the Garmaw and Sarwan Kala areas of Sangin district, Helmand province, were ambushed by the armed opposition forces. The fighting continued for several hours, and air assets were used. Amongst an unknown number of militants killed, Helmand authorities stated that they had confirmed 21 civilians killed including women and children.

On May 15, ISAF troops escorting a convoy through Kandahar city shot and injured five civilians. Two of the injured civilians later died.

On May 27, in the Grishk district of Helmand province, four civilians working in a field were killed and three or four more wounded when ISAF launched an airstrike. A house was also reportedly bombed, allegedly belonging to a local armed opposition org-man. 7 civilians were found dead under the rubble.

June

On June 3, a young girl was killed when ISAF opened warning fire on a vehicle coming close to the convoy in Baloch village of Khost (Matun) district, Khost province. Five Humvee armoured vehicles were passing on the road behind a local taxi. The Humvee fired on the taxi to warn, the bullet struck the adjacent sideway, bounced from the sideway and hit a girl named Fatima who was playing nearby. The convoy never stopped to help. The father of Fatima took her to the nearby hospital, but the girl died on operation table.

On June 7, the NDS office in Nuristan province confirmed that an ISAF airstrike killed three civilians and injured one in Kamo area, Kamdesh district. The airstrike was a response to an anti-government forces’ attack of an ISAF/ANSF patrol convoy in the area.

On June 11, ISAF soldiers opened fire on a civilian vehicle carrying a group of six male youths (aged between 8 and 16) traveling toward the bazaar area between Kandagal and Zarmandai villages, Dara-i-Pech district, Kunar province. A note from ISAF states that the soldiers fired warning shots to stop the vehicle, yet the driver failed to obey and continued. According to witnesses, however, as the truck passed the soldiers, the soldiers did not fire warning shots but immediately opened fire on the vehicle as it met with or passed the ISAF soldiers on the road. Witnesses stated that after the car collided with a tree, ISAF soldiers continued to fire on the vehicle and emptied and reloaded magazines. Reportedly, the ISAF soldiers walked toward the truck and continued to shoot, killing the driver and two passengers and injuring two or three passengers.

On June 12, UNAMA received information from local medical sources that a boy had been treated for shrapnel wounds to the head, suffered when a rocket fired by ISAF hit his house in Mizan district, Zabul province. The incident occurred when ISAF had intervened to drive out armed opposition forces that were present in the area.

On June 16, at 8:45 AM in Kabul PD 5, a vehicle-born explosive device went off in the proximity of a US Forces convoy. The US military began to search the area and started shooting at a group of Afghan men who were standing nearby with the Chief Police Officer. One of them was killed and two others injured.

On June 17, at around 11:00 PM, the Khadily Madrassa in Yahya Khel district, Paktika province, was attacked by ISAF Air Force. Later it became known that 7 purported members of the opposition forces and 7 children in the madrassa were killed.

On June 18, local sources reported that large numbers of civilians had been killed and injured as a result of fighting between anti-government elements and ISAF/ANSF in Chora district, Uruzgan province. As fighting intensified, ISAF then launched airstrikes against the anti-government forces. Up to 60 civilians were reportedly killed and approximately 40 injured in these airstrikes.

On June 19, ISAF/ANSF carried out an operation to raid three private residences in Kandahar city. During the operation one civilian was killed and 11 individuals were detained. US state that the dead individual was a member of the armed opposition who resisted arrest. However, Members of Parliament representing Kandahar told UNAMA that those killed and arrested had not been linked to anti-government elements. Local residents also protested over the conduct of the search, claiming insensitive treatment of women by the foreigners, and alleging that dogs used during the search mutilated the body of the person who was killed.

On June 22, the Helmand Chief of Police reported to UNAMA that 25 civilians (including nine women and three children) had been killed as a result of an ISAF airstrike on three houses in Grishk district. The circumstances surrounding the airstrike are not clear. Media reports simply state that “an ISAF force was attacked near Grishk district and responded with airstrikes.”

On June 29, the Helmand Chief of Police reported to UNAMA that a number of civilian houses had been hit by airstrikes during the fighting between anti-government elements and international forces near Hyderabad village in Grishk district, Helmand province. Initial reports on 30 June from the Chief of Police indicated that up to 35 bodies had been pulled from the rubble of houses hit by these airstrikes. Soon UNAMA obtained the following casualty statistics arising from the airstrikes: anti-government elements killed – 60, civilians killed – 45, civilians injured – 23. However, reports from other sources vary, with local elders and other contacts in Lashkargah reporting “over 100 civilians killed and tens injured.” Meanwhile Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reports information from its own local sources who state that “over 60 civilians have been killed and an unknown number injured.”

July

On July 2, two civilians were killed and four others were injured after an ISAF convoy fired at civilian vehicles as it moved through Kandahar city. Four civilians were reported to have been drivers of either motorcycles or small vehicles. The rest of the victims were bystanders.

On July 3, an ISAF patrol shot a motorcyclist dead after firing warning shots because he had violated instructions to stop at a temporary checkpoint in the provincial capital of Ghazni. The victim was a high school student.

On July 5-7, ISAF/ANSF conducted a joint operation in the area of Sangar village, Watapur district, Kunar province. During this operation, 27 civilians were killed, five injured, considerable damage was caused to the households, and five houses were damaged. The fighting was launched on the basis of information that two armed opposition groups had concentrated in the area with the intention of attacking ISAF. It was reported that shelling by Pro-Government forces was indiscriminate, and civilians were bombed deliberately.

On July 6, ISAF/ANSF clashed with armed opposition that took control of Shiwan, Bala Buluk district, Farah province. Initial media reports about 108 civilians killed in coalition airstrikes to push the Taliban back from the captured village have been denied by provincial government officials and cannot be confirmed by any other sources. A little later, it was reported that the civilian population had apparently been notified of a possible military operation by the authorities and able to leave the area before the fighting began. However, according to reports from the locals, the death toll is one person, three were injured. Three houses were completely destroyed, six more houses and one mosque were partially damaged.

On July 9, in the village of Aman Khel, Ladha Mangal district, Paktia province, a civilian's house was attacked during an ISAF operation. Presumably, two children and one man perished during the operation. The UNAMA Human Rights Unit interviewed tribal elders, who confirmed that ISAF helicopters landed at the location as early as around 5:00 AM on July 9. Soldiers, mostly ISAF, reportedly surrounded the home of an Afghan man named Salim (a government supporter) and asked him to leave. The Afghan exited into the street with a weapon, accompanied by his 10-year-old son. According to tribal elders, it is difficult to trace back who fired first. Salim and his 10-year-old son were killed in a shootout. They stated that after initial firing, ISAF fired again at Salim's home, where his 6-year-old son was reportedly killed, and his wife and daughter were injured.

On July 9, near the bridge in the centre of Gardez city, Paktia province, an ISAF patrol opened fire at a 68-year-old taxi driver who allegedly disobeyed a stop order and continued to approach the convoy. The driver was wounded, and his car ran off the road.

On July 13, three civilians were shot and wounded by an ISAF patrol in Kandahar city.

On July 21, a 12-year-old boy was mortally wounded by a flare in Farah province's Khaki Safed district while an ISAF military helicopter was landing.

On July 22, during protracted fighting between international forces and armed opposition fighters, at least 17 civilians were killed and 15 injured in the shelling of a house where civilians were hiding in Mazarabad, Musa Qala district, Helmand province. Some of the wounded civilians sought refuge in Mazarabad when fighting broke out in their neighbouring village after an international force patrol had been ambushed.

On July 24, a civilian was killed when ISAF troops opened fire on a private vehicle attempting to overtake an ISAF convoy in Tarinkot city, administrative centre of Uruzgan province.

On July 25, two children were killed when members of an ISAF patrol opened fire on a civilian vehicle in Tarinkot. The vehicle was reported not to stop on order.

On July 25, twenty six civilians were killed during ISAF military operations in Landi Nawa, Musa Qala district, Helmand province. Sources at the administrative centre of Helmand province’s Lashkargah Hospital also told UNAMA that they received 15 civilians who had been injured in the incident.

On July 25-26, the local elder of Grishk district, Helmand province, informed UNAMA of 28 civilian deaths when international forces and ANSF conducted an operation against anti-government forces in the village of Kumbarak.

In July, ISAF shelling hit two different houses in Sirkani district, Kunar province. One civilian was killed, and four others were injured.

August

On August 1, one civilian was killed and one wounded in Tarinkot city, Uruzgan province, when ISAF troops, opened fire on a private vehicle that approached their convoy and failed to respond to stop warnings.

On August 2, international coalition forces launched an airstrike on Bagni area, Baghran district, Helmand province. The attack resulted in numerous casualties. Most of the evidence available to UNAMA confirms that the airstrike targeted a large concentration of Talibs, many of whom came from nearby areas. However, some of those killed and wounded in the bombing were non-combatants. For example, five boys under the age of 16 were injured. Up to 40 wounded people were also reported to have been treated in Lashkargah.

On August 5, a civilian was killed in Deh Rawood district, Uruzgan province, when ISAF troops opened fire on a motorcycle driven by two men who had not stopped at a warning.

On August 7, UNAMA received reports from local sources that 27 civilians had been killed and 35 injured in joint ISAF/ANSF operations with close air support near Khas Uruzgan district, Uruzgan province.

On August 22, two civilians, including one child, were injured as a result of rocket fire from international forces in the village of Sangisar, Zhari district, Kandahar province. Relatives of the victims said they were working in the garden when they were injured. It was alleged that a few days before the shelling, Talibs passed by the settlement, but on the day of the incident, none of the locals confirmed that the armed opposition was in the area.

On August 25-26, the ISAF Air Force made an airstrike against anti-government elements in the area of Gobar, Musa Qala district, Helmand province. Local sources report victims among the civilian population. The Lashkargah Hospital admitted 8 persons, including two women and three children, who alleged to get injured as a result of this incident. One of them died of injuries later on. It was also reported that due to the incident 12 more civilians (including women and children) were killed. Seven of them got to be members of one household.

On August 29, local sources informed the UNAMA about 7 civilians that had taken shelter in a house being killed in Musa Qala district, Helmand province, by projectiles fired by the international forces during the encounter with the armed opposition. Besides, five more civilians got killed in Mussalmani in the course of a similar military engagement.

In August, about 300 families from Pachir wa Agam and Khogyani districts, Nangarhar province, left their houses during a large-scale special operation. In the course of the grinding combat activities 6 civilian residents were killed and at least 10 seriously injured due to fragments of the missile projectiles falling into the residential houses and air bombardments.

September

On September 1, a civilian and a child were killed in Mazar Abad, Musa Qala district, Helmand province, when the international forces made an airstrike against the alleged location of the fighters of the armed opposition that purportedly took under fire the ISAF patrol convoy.

On September 2, eight women and one boy were admitted to Mirwais hospital, Kandahar province, with injuries with various degrees of severities following the ISAF airstrikes against one of the neighbourhoods in Arghanbad district.

On September 5, the ISAF made a targeted airstrike against a private territory in Andar district, Ghazni province, where 13 anti-government elements were located. As a result of the incident, 4 civilian residents were injured alongside with the fighters, and a woman with three children was killed.

On September 17, in Surobi district, Kabul province, the ISAF/ANSF conducted a joint operation during which an airstrike was made, resulting in casualties among the civilians.

On September 19, the ISAF/ANSF encountered armed opposition during the joint operation in Nahri Saraj district, Helmand province. Making the retreat, the fighters found shelter in the civilian houses. Following the governmental forces’ intense firings at the residential sector 6 civilians were killed and two injured.

On September 26, the head of the Health department of Uruzgan province informed the UNAMA about five injured being admitted to hospital in Tarinkot city. They suffered during airstrikes within the continuing military operations of the ISAF in Deh Rawood district. He also stated that from 70 to 100 civilians died during those operations.

On September 27, during the ISAF/ANSF operation to combat fighters of the armed opposition in Gambir village, Watapur district, Kunar province on border with Nuristan province the coalition airstrikes resulted in death of three civilians with one woman getting injured. Besides, the Province Council announced that 18 fighters were killed during that operation. Nevertheless, according to certain data, 9 civilians died during the operation (one woman and four children), one woman was wounded, and one civilian got arrested.

On September 28, during the combat operation against fighters in Dara-i-Pech district, Kunar province, the anti-government elements attacked an ISAF convoy. As a result of the ISAF’s counter-airstrike a child died as well as 8 civilians suffered. Five residential houses were fully or partially destroyed. Other sources reported 3 civilian deaths along with 60 heads of the livestock.

On September 29, in Gerda Seray district, Paktia province, the anti-government elements attacked an ISAF group that responded by calling for the air support. One of the announcements noted also that three women and a child (members of one household) were killed by a shell hitting a private house.

October

On October 2, at about 06:30 AM firings were heard near the UN guest house in the 6-th district of Kandahar. According to the first reports of the UN guard, the firings came from a Canadian military convoy that followed the road from the West to the East nearby the UN guest house. The locals in the street came under fire and, in particular, two civilians riding by their motorcycles were killed.

On October 5, the ISAF opened fire against a civilian car that drove too close to the foreign troop convoy. Two civilians were killed (a man and a woman), and one woman suffered. The incident happened in Hatti Banda village, Kunar province.

On October 19, during the Avalanche anti-insurgent special operation that started in four districts of the Kunar province at least 12 civilians were killed and 11 more were injured. Almost all victims from among the civilian population were women and children.

On October 20, in the area of Lashkargah city, Helmand province, an ISAF military brought fire against a civilian car that did not stop on time during the movement of the ISAF convoy. A 2-year-old girl died in the incident.

On October 20, the UNAMA received the information from the local source in Khost that several local children were killed or injured while collecting firewood near the Salerno military base. In its media release, the ISAF confirmed the reliability of the data related to the above incident.

On October 22, the ISAF made three airstrikes against Esmail-Khel village, Urgun district, Paktika province, as far as there supposed to be an entrapment being ready according to their data. There was no information on any military clashes. The first strike was aimed at the house/shop located near the main road used to supply the village. There were several fellow villagers from one household in the house. Several minutes later the second strike followed between the two houses. Following the airstrikes, 5 civilians were killed and 7 injured.

On October 23, the AFP news agency informed that one child from a Kochi family was killed, and four persons were wounded when the troops under the command of the USA brought fire against a nomad tent within the search operation in Spin Boldak district. A media representative of the Operation Enduring Freedom confirmed the firings made by the CF troops.

On October 24, an armed clash between ISAF and the armed opposition broke out in the village of Shahi Khel, Tagab district, Kapisa province. After a while, military helicopters came for backup to the Pro-Government forces and started indiscriminate shelling of the said settlement. Five rockets struck the home of a civilian, wounding three members of his family. The building was destroyed.

November

On November 1, during a special operation in the returnee camp in Khas Kunar district, Kunar province, ISAF troops shot a 17-year-old shopkeeper, who died as a result of his wounds.

On November 5, international forces launched airstrikes against fighters in the Nakhoni locality of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province. According to some reports, two women were killed, and two others wounded.

On November 11, ISAF troops in Garmsir district, Helmand province, killed a woman and two children during a search operation at a house allegedly occupied by armed opposition fighters. Foreign military personnel responded to the ambush with deadly force fire from the building. After the grenade exploded, part of the house collapsed, killing civilians.

On November 15, in Daman district, Kandahar province, ISAF troops fired at a taxi for failing to stop when approaching an ISAF convoy. One civilian was killed and another wounded.

On November 23, ISAF shelled the village of Korengal in Kunar province, killing five civilians and wounding two.

On November 26, in Gerda Serai district, Paktia province, civilians were injured during the ensuing battle between the armed opposition and ISAF in the area. Local elders believe that ISAF is responsible for the injury of the civilians.

On November 26, as a result of ISAF artillery fire in Balai village, Laghman province, a woman was killed, and two other people were wounded. The area was used for grazing livestock.

On November 27, 16 workers from a local construction company were killed by aerial bombing of a campground by international coalition forces in the border district between Du Ab and Nurgaram districts of Nuristan province. According to UNAMA sources, the company informed ISAF of its location three times (the camp is located 10 km from the military base).

December

On December 2, fighters attacked an ISAF base in Waygal district, Nuristan province, using heavy weapons. ISAF reportedly responded with an airstrike resulting, according to some reports, in four civilian casualties.

On December 4, in Daman district, Kandahar province, ISAF troops engaged a civilian vehicle because it had failed to pull over to the side of the road or stop when an ISAF convoy approached. Two civilians were wounded.

On December 4, in the village of Barabat in Khas Kunar district, Kunar province, ISAF fired an artillery shell that exploded in close proximity to a local shepherd and his flock. The shepherd was injured and several of his animals were killed.

On December 6, international forces conducted airstrikes in Garmsir district, Helmand province. According to some reports, in addition to 13 members of the armed opposition, 8 civilians were also killed.

On December 7, four civilians were killed, and four others wounded in an ISAF/ANSF joint operation in the southern part of Musa Qala district, Helmand province.

On December 9, international forces said they had conducted an operation west of Kandahar City that resulted in the arrest of three armed opposition members. A 13-year-old girl perished during the operation.

On December 22, an artillery round was fired from a local international military base in Pachir wa Agam district, Nangarhar province, in a test of new ammunition. The shell missed its target and exploded near the home of a local resident, slightly injuring two women and one girl.

On December 25, an airstrike in Baghran district, Helmand province, killed 18 civilians and wounded 41 others. This was reported to UNAMA at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar the next day. Two settlements, Kalanjue and Tareak, were shelled while civilians were sleeping. The victims do not know why they were targeted by the airstrike, as there were no Taliban forces or any armed clashes in the area.

2006

January

On January 14, the CIA-controlled Predator drone fired several missiles over the Afghan border at the Pakistani village of Damadola, Bajaur agency. 18 civilians were killed[28]. The target was one of the leaders of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he was not in the village at the time of the attack.

March

On March 14, Canadian troops in Kandahar opened fire on a taxi, killing one of its passengers, a civilian[29].

August

On August 22, a 10-year-old boy, traveling as a passenger on a motorcycle, was shot and killed by Canadian troops in Kandahar.

On August 26, Canadian troops shot and killed an Afghan policeman and wounded 6 more persons.

October

On October 18, a missile struck a house during a night-time clash between armed opposition fighters and NATO/ANSF forces in the village of Tajikai, 217 km west of Kandahar city. Thirteen civilians inside the house were killed.

On October 19, NATO helicopters blew up three mud houses in southern Afghanistan during a night-time special operation to search for the Taliban. At least 9 civilians, including women and children, were killed.

On October 26, between 40 and 60 villagers were killed in two separate overnight air raids, followed by mortar and rocket attacks on populated areas in Panjwayi district, Kandahar province[30]. The incident occurred in the midst of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month. NATO states that fierce battles with the armed opposition were taking place at those locations, during which civilians may have been injured.

November

On November 16 in Helmand province[31], British troops opened fire on a car, killing two of its passengers and wounding a young girl.

December

On December 12, an elderly motorcyclist was shot and killed by Canadian troops in Kandahar[32].

2005

July

On July 1, according to the Pentagon, an “unknown number” of civilians were killed in an air raid in the province of Kunar. Another source dates the incident to July 3 and reports that 17 people were killed.[33]

2004

January

11 civilians, including four children, were killed in a USAF airstrike on a house in the village of Saghatho[34], Uruzgan province. In turn, the US military said that they had conducted a weekend raid in the area, in which they killed five armed militants and stated that they had no information about civilian casualties.

March

On March 7, three civilians, including one child, were killed in Uruzgan province when US personnel opened indiscriminate fire after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb. In another shooting by foreign military personnel, seven people, including three children, were wounded in the district of Shahidi Hassas (ex-Charchino).[35]

2003

February

In February, at least 17 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in coalition bombings in the mountains in Baghran district, Helmand province.[36] US military officials said they had been conducting an operation to identify and eliminate militants of the armed opposition along a mountain ridgeline in the area.

April

In April, 11 Afghans, including 7 women, were killed, and one civilian was wounded when a laser-guided US bomb missed its target and landed on a house on the outskirts of Shkin, Gomal district, Paktika province.[37]

June

On June 21, David Passaro, a CIA contractor and former US army ranger, killed an Afghan named Abdul Wali who was detained at a US base 16 km south of Asadabad city, provincial centre of Kunar province. Six years later – on  August 10, 2009 – David Passaro was pronounced guilty and sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in prison.[38]

September

At least 8 civilians died in a US airstrike in Naw Bahar district of Zabul province. A Taliban commander was also killed in the airstrike.[39]

October

US warplanes fired on a house in Waygal district, Nuristan province, resulting in the deaths of 6 members of one family. The house belonged to former governor of the province, who was in Kabul at the time. The intended targets of the attack were Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Mullah Fakirullah who had left the area only hours before the shelling. All victims (three children, a teenager, a young man, and an elderly woman) were relatives of the former governor.[40]

November

6 civilians were killed when a US warplane dropped a bomb on Barmal district, Paktika province. The US was quick to deny this information, saying that they had killed five Al-Qaeda militants.[41]

December

Six children and two adult civilians were killed near the city of Gardez, administrative centre of Paktia province, in aerial attacks to cover US special forces during a special operation to destroy a group of militants who were guarding an ammunition depot.[42]

Nine children aged 9-12 and one adult civilian were killed in an air raid by US A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft. The target of the attack was militant Mullah Wazir who managed to escape.[43]

2002

Torture of detainees at the Bagram Collection Point[44]

In 2002, two civilian Afghan detainees were tortured and later killed by US military personnel at a detention centre at the Bagram Air Base. The two prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the ceiling and beaten to their deaths. Military medical officers ruled that both the prisoners' deaths were homicides. Charges were brought against 15 US personnel.

January

On January 24, US troops took by storm a local religious school (madrasa) in Hazar Qadam, Uruzgan province, killing one local who resisted foreign invaders.[45]

July

On July 1, 48 people were killed and 117 wounded in the bombing of a wedding ceremony in Deh Rawood distict, Uruzgan province.[46] The data of October 2006 reveals that 46 people were killed. It seems that US personnel mistook celebratory gunfire for shooting by the armed opposition. The air raid is reported to have lasted over an hour and was conducted by a B-52 bomber and an AC-130 attack aircraft. Many of the victims were women and children. The incident led to a formal protest and condemnation by the Afghan government. On July 5, an anti-US rally took place in Kabul. There have been several investigations into the incident. A preliminary report by the UN indicated that US forces had removed vital evidence after reaching the site of the bombing raid.[47]

At the end of July, US forces together with Afghan military conducted a search operation in Zurmat district, Paktia province, during which one civilian was killed and one woman was wounded.

2001

October

On October 11, the village of Karam (population of 450, 60 mud houses) in Nangarhar province was completely destroyed in a misguided carpet bombing by the USAF. Survivors say that between 100 and 160 people were killed.[48]

On October 13, a missile fired from an F-18 fighter aircraft hit a civilian home 2 km south of the Kabul airport. Four civilians were killed.[49]

On October 18, the central market place Sarai Shamali in Howz-e-Madad village, Kandahar province was bombed by the USAF. It was reported that 47 civilians were killed.[50]

On October 21, US fighter aircraft F-18 mistakenly dropped a cluster bomb on an operating military hospital in Herat city, Herat province, killing about 100 civilians.[51]

On October 21, 23 people were killed in air raids on the village of Thori in Uruzgan province. According to the survivors, US warplanes started bombing the area around the village. The target of the attack was a large Taliban military base known as Gar Mao located 1 km or so from the village.[52]

On October 24, 20 people were killed in a USAF airstrike on a mosque near Herat city.[53]

On October 31, an F-18 fighter aircraft of the USAF dropped about 10 cluster bombs on a Red Cross hospital in Kandahar. There were about 25 civilian casualties.[54]

December

On December 1, in a massive carpet bombing of Tora Bora, Nangarhar province, the USAF mistakenly dropped 25 1000 lb Mark 83 bombs on the village of Kama Ado. Survivors say that between 100 and 200 people were killed. On the same day, two more villages were bombed – Khan-e-Mairjuddin (50 confirmed deaths) and Zaner Khel (numerous casualties).[55]

On December 31, on a tip-off by US Special Forces, three USAF bombers flew to the assumed militia-held area and raided the village of Qalaye Niazi, Gardez district, Paktia province; it was later discovered that over 100 civilians were killed.[56]