U.S.: Troops fired guns in self-defense

On Monday, crowds rioted after a U.S. truck accident killed up to five Afghans.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday that American soldiers used their guns in self-defense after rioting Afghans opened fire during a melee that broke out after a deadly road crash.
President Bush spoke with the Afghan leader and pledged a full investigation into Kabul's worst unrest since the Taliban's downfall. The anti-foreigner riots were sparked by an accident Monday in which a U.S. truck plowed into a line of cars, killing up to five Afghans.
Col. Tom Collins, the military spokesman, said the driver of the truck was not suspected of any wrongdoing and had not been arrested. He said the truck's brakes were believed to have overheated and failed.
However, he said the military was investigating whether the troops involved in the crash fired their guns into a group of violent demonstrators or over their heads. He said some of the rioters who were throwing stones at the U.S. troops also had weapons and were shooting at them.
"Our initial investigation ... shows that fire came from the crowd, and our soldiers used their weapons to defend themselves," he said. Asked if this meant that they fired into or over the crowd, Collins said, "Our investigation is still looking into this."
Police chief's account
The New York Times, on its Web site Wednesday, quoted the chief of highway police in Kabul, Gen. Amanullah Gozar, as saying U.S. soldiers fired into the crowd, killing four people. Gozar, who the Times reported was an eyewitness, said the soldiers were in the last vehicle in a U.S. army convoy involved in the crash.
On Tuesday the Afghan parliament demanded prosecution of U.S. soldiers involved in the truck accident. "Those responsible for the accident on Monday should be handed over to Afghan legal authorities," Saleh Mohammed Saljuqi, an assistant to the parliamentary speaker, cited the motion as saying.
It seems unlikely the parliamentary motion would lead to any action. U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan come under American military jurisdiction, although foreigners working on civilian projects are generally subject to Afghan law.
In the violence that immediately followed the crash, rampaging mobs looted stores and burned some government buildings and offices of international organizations. Up to 20 Afghans were killed and more than 160 wounded, mostly from gunshots. The situation has since calmed, but Kabul remains under a night curfew.
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