Afghan Children Weren’t Killed by Canadian Munitions, Army Says

Source: Bloomberg

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- A blast that killed three Afghan children last week when they handled unexploded bombs near the southern city of Kandahar wasn’t caused by Canadian munitions, Canada’s military said in a statement today.

A preliminary investigation by Canadian and Afghan authorities points to the deaths being caused by a roadside bomb or mine and not explosives used by soldiers in range practice the day before the Feb. 23 incident, said Brigadier-General Jon Vance, the commander of Canadian troops in Kandahar province.

“The burden of proof and experience in this part of the province places the likelihood of harming people with explosives squarely on the shoulders of the insurgency, not on the shoulders of Canadians,” said Vance, in the statement e-mailed by NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.

Canada has about 2,800 soldiers in Afghanistan under NATO command fighting Taliban insurgents. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he plans to withdraw those troops by 2011.



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