Senior British officer is suspected in leaks about civilian casualties in Afghanistan

Senior British officer is suspected in leaks about civilian casualties in Afghanistan
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, February 6, 2009

A senior British army officer has been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion that he leaked information about civilian casualties to human rights groups.

The officer, identified in the British press as Lt. Col. Owen McNally, 48, had been held by military police in Kabul before being flown back to England to face further questioning, the Ministry of Defence confirmed late Wednesday.

Officials said McNally could be charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act by leaking the figures. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly criticized the international military mission in Afghanistan for civilian deaths caused in raids and air strikes, and the issue has become a top concern for NATO forces.

According to the United Nations, the number of civilian deaths caused by NATO troops and militants has risen by nearly 40 percent since 2007.

The information allegedly leaked by McNally was believed to have been used in a Human Rights Watch report that harshly criticized NATO and American forces for causing civilian deaths.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60513

as the saying goes "the first casualty of war is the truth".