Six children killed following US action in Afghanistan

The US military has admitted that it may have been responsible for the deaths of six more children in eastern Afghanistan last Saturday, in addition to the nine that died after a US air raid in a neighbouring province on the same day.

A US military spokesperson told reporters today that six children had been found, apparently crushed to death, after a raid on a suspected terrorist compound in Gardez, a town in the eastern province of Paktia, on Saturday. The bodies of two adults were also recovered.

Thousands of US and Afghan troops are currently involved in combing the eastern areas of the country in an attempt to run down Al Qaeda and rebels forces – of which last weekend's raids formed part.

The Gardez compound was thought to be home to suspected terrorist Mullah Jilani, however, he was not found. Nine other arrests were made.

In a qualified statement of regret, Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty said that "if non-combatants surround themselves with thousands of weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and howitzers and mortars, in a compound known to be used by a terrorist, we are not completely responsible for the consequences".

He went on to warn that there could be no guarantee that this would be the last incident of this type during the sweeping up operations.

Today's admission comes only two days after it was revealed that nine children had been killed following an air raid in Ghazni on the same day.

Elsewhere, a US Army helicopter has made a crash landing after coming under attack near Fallujah, western Iraq, yesterday.

The helicopter's pilot and co-pilot were able to walk away from their Kiowa observation chopper after making an emergency landing south of Fallujah.

A US spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft had come under enemy fire while conducting a reconnaissance mission.

A formal investigation has been launched into the incident.

(gmcg)