Afghans Say Civilians Killed in Raids

Provincial Afghan authorities said Wednesday that at least 17 civilians have been killed in bombing raids this week by U.S.-led forces trying to root out remnants of the Taliban.

Haji Mohammed Wali, a spokesman for Helmand province, said an official in Baghran district reported the deaths after relatives came to district headquarters.

“The people came crying, saying their relatives had died or were missing,” Wali said from Helmand’s capital, Lashkar Gah.

According to the reports, there were 17 deaths, mostly women and children, since bombing began Sunday, he said. Another senior official in the province said there could be as many as 20 wounded.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Roger King said he had no information about civilian deaths near the village of Lejay in the Baghran Valley.

He told reporters that B-52 and B-1 bombers had pounded a mountain ridge in Baghran on Tuesday after ground forces spotted about 25 suspected Taliban members taking up offensive positions.

Speaking at Bagram air base, the U.S. headquarters in Afghanistan, King said 12 suspects were captured, but Wali said he had reports that 30 people had been detained.

King said U.S. ground forces called in air support over a period of eight hours after spotting men with AK-47s and rocket grenades moving along the ridgeline.