US says only 30 Afghan civilians died in bombing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 20, 6:22 pm ET
KABUL – Video evidence recorded by fighter jets and the account of the ground commander suggest no more than 30 civilians were killed in a two-day battle in western Afghanistan this month, the U.S. military said Wednesday, a stark contrast with Afghan claims that 140 civilians died.

The footage shows insurgents streaming into homes that were later bombed, said Col. Greg Julian, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan. He said ground troops observed some 300 villagers flee in advance of the fighting, indicating that not many could have been inside the bombed compounds.

The figures, which the Americans called preliminary, are far lower than the numbers villagers provided to an Afghan government commission days after the May 4-5 battle in the villages of Gerani and Ganjabad in Farah province.

The Afghan government has paid compensation to families who claimed relatives were killed; the U.S. contends the money could have acted as an incentive for families to inflate the numbers of victims. A list of 140 names provided by villagers includes at least 60 females and more than 90 people under age 18.

:sarcasm:

...granted I'm sure I'm on quite a few "ignore" lists, and the thrust of the article isn't on the discrepancy of numbers killed, but still, not one response.

"American Colonel Greg Julian disputed the numbers, saying, "Well I could give you 140 names too. The problem is there is no evidence of that number of graves ... Are those real people? Did they ever actually exist? I can give you a list of 53 girls names with their ages.""

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5690583&mesg_id=5690583