Karzai fires 2 army officers over deaths
President Hamid Karzai sacked two of his army officers in the wake of a joint operation with U.S.-led forces that he said killed at least 89 civilians. Earlier reports of the toll had been lower.
Karzai ordered the Defense Ministry to investigate Gen. Jalandar Shah, the corps commander for the Afghan national army in Herat, and Maj. Abdul Jabar, head of the commando unit involved in the Friday airstrike in Azizabad village of Herat’s Shindand district.
Originally the U.S. coalition said the battle killed 30 militants, but U.S. spokeswoman Rumi Nielson-Green said Saturday that five civilians connected to the militants were among the dead. The U.S., which has expressed regret at the civilian deaths, has said it will investigate the incident.
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