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TELEGRAPH– Tens of thousands of secret American military documents have been leaked disclosing how Nato forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan.
The classified memos also reveal the secret efforts of coalition forces to hunt down and “kill or capture” senior Taliban and al-Qaeda figures.
And they document growing evidence that Iran and Pakistan is supporting the insurgency. Although many of the claims in the documents, of which there are more than 90,000, have been aired previously, the leak to the website Wikileaks is highly embarrassing. It was condemned by the White House last night, which said the information could threaten the safety of coalition operations.
The Ministry of Defence said it was still studying the leaked documents.
The most damaging allegations surround the killing of civilians by coalition troops. The documents claim that 195 civilians have been improperly killed and 174 wounded. Many were innocent motorcyclists or drivers shot after being suspected of being suicide bombers.
In one incident, a US patrol machine-gunned a bus, wounding or killing 15 passengers. Incidents involving British troops killing civilians in Kabul are also detailed.
Several civilian deaths were thought to have been caused by remote-controlled drones commanded from Nevada, thousands of miles away.
Many of the incidents have never previously been disclosed.
The memos also reveal the operations of a secret special forces “black unit” that is charged with the “kill or capture” without trial of Taliban leaders.
There are said to have been 2,000 civilians killed by Taliban roadside bombs.
The suspected influence of foreign governments in the insurgency is revealed. Pakistan receives $1billion a year from the US to help fight the insurgents, but the documents suggest that members of its security services, the ISI, have met Taliban leaders to organise resistance against US forces and even kill US-supported Afghan leaders.
Continue reading about the 90,000 Classified War Logs.
© COPYRIGHT TELEGRAPH, 2010
