2010-08-12 14:30

KABUL, Afghanistan - A crowd of about 300 villagers yelled "death to the United States" and blocked a main road in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday as they swore that US forces had killed three innocent villagers, officials said.

NATO forces rejected the claim -- saying they killed several suspected insurgents and detained a local Taliban commander in the overnight raid.

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The gulf between the two accounts is a reminder of how sensitive every NATO operation in Afghanistan has become. In Taliban-heavy areas it is hard to distinguish villagers from insurgents and sometimes public opinion turns against coalition forces even when they say they are certain they targeted the correct people.

And while NATO has drastically reduced the civilian deaths it causes, the military coalition still makes mistakes. In the first six months of this year, 386 civilian were killed by NATO or Afghan government forces -- 41 during search and seizure operations such as night raids, according to the United Nations.

The raid in question happened before dawn Thursday in Wardak province's Sayed Abad district -- a Taliban-heavy area where Afghan police can only go with very tight security, according to district Police Chief Abdul Karim Abed.

Elders from Zarin Khil village said American troops stormed into a family's house and shot three brothers -- all young men -- and then took their father into custody, Abed said. Police are investigating the allegations but could not yet confirm or deny the account, he said.

NATO called the men suspected insurgents and said they "showed hostile intent." It did not provide further details in a statement.

"The assault force engaged the threat, killing the men. After securing the compound, the assault force detained one suspected insurgent," NATO said.

According to the elders, there was no fighting before the troops entered the house, Abed said.

Early Thursday morning, men from the village started to gather in the main market of Sayed Abad to protest the alleged civilian killings, Abed said. The men blocked the main highway going through the area and burned two trucks belonging to Afghan private security contractors, Abed said.

Abed said he did not have more detailed information because he was unable to leave the police compound.

"If we go out, maybe fighting will start," he said.