Firing line
Despite repeated Defence Force denials, the governor of Afghanistan’s Bamyan province has said that civilians were killed in a raid by NZ’s SAS troops. One of the victims was reportedly a 3-year-old girl, Fatima (left), who died in her mother’s arms from
Credible sources are emerging to cast doubt on Defence Force denials civilians were killed during a Kiwi SAS “revenge” raid in Afghanistan. As calls for an inquiry into claims in Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson’s new book Hit & Run grow, the Defence Force has refused any comment or interviews beyond a flat denial civilians were killed even as senior commanders were called to provide further briefings to Prime Minister Bill English.
Late yesterday, the governor of Bamyan province in Afghanistan, Habiba Sarabi, told the Herald she learned from people close to where the raid happened that civilians had been killed during the 2010 operation in neighbouring Baghlan province.
“We have to avoid civilian casualties but sometimes it happens. I have heard from Baghlan people from the community close to Bamyan that there were civilian casualties.
“I don’t know the number of civilian casualties but in a conflict there’s sometimes civilian casualties happening. It is, of course, war.”
And former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp — who held the role at the time of the raid — told Newshub: “One of the disasters of war is these terrible things can happen. At the time of the attack they thought they were being attacked by insurgents.”
In Hit & Run, Mapp was quoted as telling a friend the raid was “our biggest and most disastrous operation. A fiasco”. He would not deny making the comments.
Mapp told Fairfax last night: “I mean, it was an accident. No one in the [ Defence Force] . . . does these things deliberately. They . . . thought they were under attack.”
He said the soldiers’ actions did not meet the threshold of a war crime.
The statements lend credence to detailed claims in the book from author Hager and war correspondent Stephenson. Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the Meaning of Honour said the August 2010 mission was led by New Zealand’s SAS and saw six civilians killed and 15 hurt in a botched raid in which none of the intended targets died.
Instead, the sound of gunfire as the SAS soldiers were inserted into the area led to a barrage from United States Apache gunships. It was during this that Hit & Run says four people were killed and many wounded.
Two more people were killed by bullets, leading to speculation the SAS gunned down civilians. While most of the casualties came from the US helicopters, the premise of Hit & Run is that the raid was inspired, organised and led by the SAS seeking “revenge” for the death of Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell, New Zealand’s first combat fatality in Afghanistan.
Among the dead was 3-year-old Fatima, daughter of Abdul Khaliq in the village of Khak Khuday Dad.
One local was quoted as saying:
“She was in her mother’s arms when a piece of shrapnel hit her head.”
Fatima’s sister Hanifa, 4, and brother Abdullah, 7, were wounded. The boy was quoted as saying: “When we have cold weather the pain in my head gets worse. We become angry and upset when we remember that time, but what can we do?”
The Defence Force has refused to make detailed comment other than citing an inquiry by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), stating: “The investigation concluded that the allegations of civilian casualties were unfounded.”
It has not released a copy of the ISAF inquiry and has also refused to say whether it carried out its own investigation into the raid.
Both Labour and the Greens have called for inquiries into the claims as English found himself pushed for assurances about the SAS actions.
In Parliament, English said he had an “initial briefing” from the Defence Force about the incident and had been briefed on some of the claims in the book which he described as “difficult to substantiate”.
Asked by Labour leader Andrew Little if he could be sure no civilians died in the raid, English said he had asked the Defence Force that too. On the basis of the ISAF probe, he said, Defence staff had followed the rules of engagement and civilian casualties had “not been substantiated”.
Asked if the SAS had asked for “fire support” from the Apaches, English said he was seeking “more written advice” from the Defence Force. The public needed to know “there is close legal scrutiny of the planning of these operations and in review of them”.
He said the Government would “not be rushed” into holding an inquiry but planned to meet with De- fence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Tim Keating when they returned from a visit to troops in Iraq.
The Defence Force, in denying civilian casualties, also said it had no power to investigate other nations’ militaries. Its denial contrasted with former Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman saying in 2014 that “you probably can’t rule out” civilians having died in Apache gunship fire.