chloe
01-28-2010, 09:01 AM
By AMIR SHAH
Associated Press Writer
KABUL (AP) - NATO troops in a convoy killed an Afghan cleric as he was driving Thursday in Kabul, prompting a protest outside a U.S. military base.
Police and witnesses said imam Mohammad Yunus, 36, was shot to death with his young son in the vehicle as he approached a main road from a side street.
NATO said foreign forces opened fire on "what appeared to be a threatening vehicle," killing the cleric who presided over services at the Paktia Kot mosque.
The cleric was hit by four bullets and died on the way to the Wazir Akbar Hospital, according to his son-in-law, Abdul Qadir, adding the family had taken the body to the province of Laghman for burial. Yunus had two wives and 10 children, Abdul-Qadir said.
A shopkeeper who witnessed the shooting said the convoy was composed of American armored vehicles and was traveling on the main road in the direction of Jalalabad. A gunner in the first vehicle opened fire as Yunus began to pull onto the same road, the 25-year-old shopkeeper said, identifying himself only as Aymal.
Aymal said he didn't hear any warnings before the gunfire. NATO said an investigation was under way and appropriate action would be taken to ensure that the troops complied with policies aimed at protecting civilians. It said Yunus' family would be compensated in accordance with local customs.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Camp Phoenix to protest the killing. They dispersed after police promised the Americans would discuss the death with local elders, according to Abdul Qadier and district police chief Col. Rohullah, who like many Afghans only uses one name.
A recent U.N. report showed that the number of civilians killed by NATO-led forces has dropped after U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, ordered measures curbing the use of airstrikes and other weapons to protect the population.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=235&sid=4274962
Associated Press Writer
KABUL (AP) - NATO troops in a convoy killed an Afghan cleric as he was driving Thursday in Kabul, prompting a protest outside a U.S. military base.
Police and witnesses said imam Mohammad Yunus, 36, was shot to death with his young son in the vehicle as he approached a main road from a side street.
NATO said foreign forces opened fire on "what appeared to be a threatening vehicle," killing the cleric who presided over services at the Paktia Kot mosque.
The cleric was hit by four bullets and died on the way to the Wazir Akbar Hospital, according to his son-in-law, Abdul Qadir, adding the family had taken the body to the province of Laghman for burial. Yunus had two wives and 10 children, Abdul-Qadir said.
A shopkeeper who witnessed the shooting said the convoy was composed of American armored vehicles and was traveling on the main road in the direction of Jalalabad. A gunner in the first vehicle opened fire as Yunus began to pull onto the same road, the 25-year-old shopkeeper said, identifying himself only as Aymal.
Aymal said he didn't hear any warnings before the gunfire. NATO said an investigation was under way and appropriate action would be taken to ensure that the troops complied with policies aimed at protecting civilians. It said Yunus' family would be compensated in accordance with local customs.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Camp Phoenix to protest the killing. They dispersed after police promised the Americans would discuss the death with local elders, according to Abdul Qadier and district police chief Col. Rohullah, who like many Afghans only uses one name.
A recent U.N. report showed that the number of civilians killed by NATO-led forces has dropped after U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, ordered measures curbing the use of airstrikes and other weapons to protect the population.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=235&sid=4274962