Local Probe Challenges U.S. Military Account of Killings in Afghanistan

Kunduz -- An IWPR investigation has challenged the American military's account of a recent raid by its forces on a town close to the border with Tajikistan, in which a number of men were either killed or taken away for questioning.

Over the past few weeks, local and international media reports have speculated about the motive for the March 22 dawn attack on Imam Sahib and the identity of those killed and detained.

The United States military has insisted that its forces stormed what it describes as a militant stronghold in Kunduz. It claims the troops battled insurgents, killing five and detaining four. But an IWPR probe, based on extensive interviews with local people, questions key aspects of the U.S. army's version of events.

The principal IWPR findings suggest the five men killed had no connection with extremists and cast doubt on the American claim that the victims had opened fire on the troops. Reporters' inquiries indicate that only one of those killed owned a weapon and that two were asleep when they were shot.

It was the middle of the night, about 3:30 am, when the two Chinook helicopters landed in Imam Sahib, residents told IWPR, and approximately 60 soldiers zeroed in on a compound belonging to the mayor of the town, Sufi Abdul Manan. They blew in the gate, and then, equipped with night-vision goggles and guns with silencers, advanced into the courtyard and surrounded a guesthouse where visitors to the town often stayed, locals claim.

"I was awoken by the sound of these large helicopters and saw Americans approaching the gate of the guesthouse," said the owner of a fuel station nearby. "They had things on their helmets. I hid, so I could not be seen. I heard a sound from shots -- like a 'phhht-phhhht'."

A baker in an adjoining compound said, "I could not see anything, but I heard a big bang, I think it was the Americans blowing up the gate."

Townsfolk say there were nine men in the guesthouse that night. Judging by the position of the bodies, seen by an IWPR reporter in an amateur video shot by a local right after the incident, the soldiers shot two men as they lay sleeping in their beds: Hassan Jan and Almed Imam.

Residents say the former made tea for guests and enjoyed listening to his music in the garden; while the latter, a long-time resident of the guesthouse, did some cleaning and washed vehicles parked inside the compound.

The soldiers also shot the mayor's driver Obaidullah, who -- from the video evidence -- appeared to be trying to run away, and the mayor's bodyguard, Nasrullah, along with his cousin Naqibullah, who had been living in the guesthouse for several weeks while he looked for a job in Imam Sahib, locals say.

They insist Nasrullah was the only one of the victims to possess a gun -- his Kalashnikov was registered with the local authorities and was used to protect the mayor.

"We were in a room near the courtyard of the guesthouse, and we could hear the shots -- those 'phhht' sounds of guns with silencers," said the mayor. "We could hear Nasrullah, my bodyguard, who was probably standing in front of the gate to our house. He was begging the Americans not to enter, he kept saying 'there are women and children there.' Then there was another shot, and we did not hear Nasrullah any more."

The mayor said the troops then left.

He maintained that he had no knowledge of four guests taken away by the troops for questioning. He said the guesthouse was often used by travellers, since there is no hotel in Imam Sahib.

"But even if those guests were terrorists, the Americans could have simply surrounded the house and knocked on the door. Why did they have to kill five innocent people?" he said.

At 4:30, residents say the soldiers were airlifted out, carrying, or dragging, the four prisoners. A short time later, locals entered the compound and found the bodies, some of them barely recognizable. They say all of the rooms around the courtyard had been searched, car windows had been smashed, but nothing was missing except for Nasrullah's Kalashnikov and the four guests taken away by the soldiers.