After a militant ambush on Sunday in eastern Afghanistan,
retreating US Marines opened fire on civilian cars and pedestrians
on a busy highway in. Up to 16 people were killed and 24 wounded in
the violence, officials said.
Afghan officials sought to extricate the series of events,
announcing that a suicide car bomber had targeted a coalition
convoy, which locals described as a US military convoy, outside
Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, in the morning.
The bombing was followed up by enemy small-arms fire from
several directions, the statement said, adding that "coalition
forces returned fire in defense of the patrol."
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"Sixteen civilians died during the initial attack, including four
civilians who later died of their wounds," said the statement,
adding that 24 civilians and a coalition soldier were also wounded
during the attack.
However, the statement shed no light on precisely how the
civilians were killed or injured.
The Afghan police had earlier revealed that US soldiers had
opened fire toward Afghans on the road after the blast, killing
eight civilians and injuring dozens, adding that the incident was
under investigation.
Hundreds of Afghans blockaded the road, and aimed stones at
Afghan policemen who were sealing off the scene, as anti-US chants
filled the air.
Due to a renewed Taliban-linked insurgency, over 400 people have
lost their lives in violence and clashes in Afghanistan this
year.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2007)
