French soldiers deny killing civilians

MAHMOOD RAQI (PAN): Officials in the central province of Kapisa on Wednesday said French soldiers had denied killing and wounding civilians in a rocket strike earlier in the week.

Six people were killed and three others wounded on December 3, when a rocket hit a civilian house in the Haibatkhel area of Tagab district.

Governor Mehrabuddin Sapi ruled out the involvement of NATO-led soldiers in the incident. But a provincial council member, Najibullah Rahimi, claimed the rocket was fired from a joint base of Afghan and foreign soldiers.

According to Abdul Hakim Akhundzada, the administrative head of Tagab district, the French soldiers had admitted to civilian casualties.

The soldiers had mistakenly fired the rocket, the district chief said. “The French troops are sorry for the attack, saying such incidents will not recur in the future.”

However, ISAF media office in Kabul denied involvement in civilian casualties, saying some insurgents had been killed and wounded.

mrh/mud