In nearly nine years of warfare in Afghanistan, U.S. Special Forces have done their fighting in the shadows, governed by rules largely of their own making. Now, these elite and secretive troops, their actions long shielded from public scrutiny, are the focus of a high-profile investigation that could shed unprecedented light on their methods and tactics.
American and Afghan officials are probing a possible attempted coverup in the deaths of five Afghan civilians in February in a raid carried out by U.S. Special Forces accompanied by Afghan troops. Three of those killed were women and among the charges is that the bodies were tampered with by coalition forces to conceal the cause of death.
The U.S. military this week accepted responsibility for the Feb. 12 slayings, initially blamed on insurgents, and on Thursday, senior officials met with family members of the slain civilians to offer an apology. But U.S. officials say allegations that bullets were dug out of the bodies as part of a coverup are baseless.
A new investigation has been opened, military officials in Afghanistan said Thursday, to further look into the differences between findings by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry and an initial American inquiry, which remains classified.
Special Forces are inextricably linked to one of the most contentious issues between the Afghan government and Western forces: civilian deaths and injuries. Special Forces account for a disproportionate share of civilian casualties caused by Western troops, military officials and human rights groups say, though there are no precise figures because so many of their missions are deemed secret.
Sometimes, the FISH flops.
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The wrong-place, wrong-time camera crew families are demanding that troops be tried for shooting at threats in a war zone.
The families of two Reuters news agency employees killed in a 2007 US helicopter attack in Baghdad on Thursday demanded justice, telling AFP the Americans responsible should stand trial.
Graphic video footage of the shooting, which left several other people dead and wounded two children, was published on the Internet by WikiLeaks, a website that discloses information obtained from whistleblowers.
"The truth came out and the whole world saw. The American pilot should be judged by international justice and we want compensation because the act left orphans," said Safa Chmagh, whose brother Saeed Chmagh, a Reuters driver, died.
"He (the pilot) killed unarmed innocent people, among them a photographer whose camera was very visible. On top of that when they evacuated the wounded they opened fire again," said Safa, whose brother was 44 when killed.
By: Brant
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