Girl among victims of alleged SAS attack
A 3-year-old girl. A father and son. Two poor farmers. A teacher visiting home. These were the six Afghan civilians killed in a 2010 New Zealand-led SAS raid, according to a new book by journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson.
The raid on two villages in the Tirgiran valley came weeks after the first New Zealand death in Afghanistan. The SAS troops were supported by Afghan commandos and United States helicopters.
While the authors stop short of directly accusing Kiwi soldiers of firing the weapons, they suggest two of the dead were likely killed by SAS snipers rather than US gunships.
In response, the New Zealand Defence Force said no civilians were killed by New Zealanders.
Hager and Stephenson detail the deaths in the book, based on interviews with villagers, a report from the Afghan government, and unnamed sources who say they were involved in the raid. The book includes a copy of an official list of deaths from the local government that includes these names.
Fairfax Mediais unable to independently verify the claims.
Fatima, the 3-year-old girl: The first death of the night-time raid was in the village of Khak Khudad Day, where US Apache gunships concentrated heavy fire on three houses.
Two mothers and five children were injured. One of the mothers was holding her Fatima when a piece of shrapnel hit her in the head, killing her, a local told the authors.
Abdul Faqir, a farmer: A relative of Fatima, Faqir was also in the complex, and later died from shrapnel wounds.
Abdul Qayoom, Fatima’s uncle, a farmer: Two unrelated men named Abdul Qayoom are alleged to have died.
The first Abdul, who was Fatima’s uncle, was found dead with a bullet wound rather than shrapnel damage – meaning it was likely SAS snipers killed him rather than US gunships, the authors wrote.
A local provided photos of drink bottles from an area they believed snipers used in the attack.
‘‘When the helicopters arrived, [Abdul] headed out of the village on a path that passed below the same assumed sniper position. He was about 150 metres away when he was hit by a single bullet and died,’’ the authors wrote.
Islamuddin, a teacher: Is also said to have died from sniper fire.
‘‘Islamuddin had gone about 50 metres up the hill behind his fam- ily home, apparently running directly towards the assumed SAS position. When he was about 30 metres from the empty water bottle spot he was shot in the chest with three bullets. Was he killed by members of the New Zealand SAS? The locals think so.’’
Islamuddin was home for a twoweek break while looking for teaching jobs.
Mohammad Iqbal, father of an insurgent: A 55-year-old farmer whose son Naimatullah was an insurgent with the Taliban.
Locals said Iqbal did not approve of his son’s activities.
Iqbal was killed by Apache pilots who tracked him a kilometre down the valley, they write.
The authors believe Iqbal’s house was a target due to the activities of his son, and that it ‘‘seems likely’’ the SAS were part of the decision to track Iqbal.
Abdul Qayoom, son of Iqbal: Not related to the other Abdul Qayoom but another son of Mohammad Iqbal, is also said to have been killed by Apache pilots.
An unnamed Kiwi officer involved in the raid was upset with this targeting of family members of insurgents.
‘‘Imagine someone kills a police officer here in Auckland,’’ the source told the authors, ‘‘and he’s hiding out in his home with his partner and children. It would be outrageous for the New Zealand police to arrive and shoot at everyone all around. ‘‘They’d be prosecuted.
‘‘So why is it OK in Afghanistan against Afghans and not in New Zealand?’’