In memory of

  

Another wedding party massacre

 

47 Afghan civilians killed, including:

The bride

8 persons aged 14 to 18

38 women and children

at 6:30 AM, July 6, 2008 

a procession was making its way by foot (or in vehicles?) to a wedding in the Ghaz area of Nangarhar Province. The group of mostly women and children escorting the bride to the wedding had stopped to rest when U.S. fighter planes came and bombed, according to eyewitnesses. The procession was as is custom on its way to the groom’s home. A witness, Lal Wazir, who was covered in blood after carrying some of those wounded, said outside the hospital, "The wedding participants were on their way to the groom's house. They stopped in a narrow location for rest. The plane came and bombed the area. There were between 80 to 90 people altogether." The procession was hit by a “precision” U.S. air assault when it was in Ka Chona village, Deh Bala (or Haska Mena) district close to the border with Pakistan. The U.S war planes obliterated the wedding party guests: the result was 47 dead civilians including the bride, 8 teenagers and 38 women and children. Scared survivors of the initial bombing ran pell-mell. When dwellers arrived at the scene to shift the injured and collect dead bodies, the US-led forces dropped four more bombs on us, Jamil said while giving an eyewitness account. Only six of the “processionists” escaped unscathed in the air strikes, revealed another man.

Many others were injured, several critically. Some were brought to the hospital in Jalalabad for treatment. One, a man named Kerate, said, “We were bombed. I couldn’t figure out what had happened and I went unconscious. When I woke up, I saw lots of people killed and injured.” “After the bombing, I saw several people wounded and killed,” said another man, who gave his name as Awrang. “I picked up some of the wounded and brought them here. I learnt later that my wife, my daughter and my sisters were killed.” The Governor of Deh Bala, Haji Amishah Gul, told The London Times: "The attack happened at 6.30 am. Just two of the dead are men, the rest are women and children. The bride is among the dead." Injured civilians later arrived at the main hospital in Jalalabad, repeating claims that a wedding party had been hit near the village of Ka Chona. . "We were bringing the bride back to our village and on the way the Americans bombed us. I was in the first vehicle and all the vehicles behind me were destroyed," Shafiqullah, who brought some of the wounded to hospital in the city of Jalalabad, told Reuters. Three young boys were among those wounded.

 The head of an official investigative commission, Shinwari said the group gathered information from eyewitnesses and victim's relatives. All those killed in Deh Bala incident were buried in one cemetery near the village where the attack happened, Shinwari said. "They were all civilians, with no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban," Shinwari said. The members of the commission gave $2,000 for every person killed and $1,000 for those wounded, he said.

 A U.S. military press (propaganda) release said several “militants” were eliminated in “precision air strikes” after “intelligence” (???) revealed a large group of insurgents operating in the Deh Bala district. U.S. military public relations officer, Army Captain Christian Patterson, promulgated: “it was not a wedding party; there were no women or children present. We have no reports of civilian casualties.”  The U.S. official lies are truly world-class: "Coalition forces received intelligence that these militants were gathering and once they positively identified the militants, they called in the air strikes," Sergeant First Class Joel Peavy told the media. "They made sure no civilians were around," said Peavy, a public affairs spokesman.

 

 What about these photos? A “militant” girl and a male “militant” (being unloaded from a car) in Jalalabad:

NANGARHAR, July 06: A girl who was wounded in U.S. forces bombardment in Haska Mena district of eastern Nangarhar province (Source: Pajhwok Afghan News at http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/07/06/bride-among-23-people-killed-in-us-bombardment-of-wedding-party-in-nangarhar.html ).

Another “militant” being treated at Jalalabad hospital:

Source: photos by Nesar Ahmad, AP

On-site investigations have revealed that 47 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the U.S. air strike.

 The U.S. military has kept on stone-walling, denying that innocent Afghan civilians were killed. Faced with overwhelming evidence, the U.S. Air Force was compelled to “carry out an investigation.” 

Some local politicians have demanded that charges be brought against those responsible for Sunday's air strike. "The Americans say they can't miss a target of four inches," said Burhanullah Shinwari, the head of the official investigating team, who is also deputy speaker of the Afghan senate. "With all their technological advances, how can they not differentiate between a wedding party, women, children and the Taliban and al-Qaeda?"  

 

Killed in a U.S. Air Force “precision” air strike upon a wedding party