Friday, August 25, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A pre-dawn raid by American troops in eastern Afghanistan left seven suspected al-Qaida fighters and one child dead, the U.S. military said in an account that was disputed by police who say those killed were two families sorting out a feud. The raid aimed at capturing a "known al-Qaida facilitator" in the village of Asmar in Kunar province, said Col. Tom Collins, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. The seven dead al-Qaida suspects included the facilitator, he said. Four others were detained. Afghan officials, however, said those targeted in the compound were from two families trying to resolve a dispute through village elders. Abdul Sabur Alluhyar, the deputy provincial police chief, denied the families were members of al-Qaida. "According to our district chief, the people who have been killed in the incident this morning are civilians from Shigal district," he said, adding that someone had given the coalition incorrect information that an al-Qaida meeting had been under way at the compound. Kunar is a volatile region bordering Pakistan where U.S. forces have deployed in large numbers to track down Taliban, al-Qaida and other Islamic extremists. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.