Kabul: US-led Western alliance in Afghanistan, NATO, has admitted that it mistakenly shot dead a BBC reported in Afghanistan during a battle against insurgents after considering him a suicide bomber.
Military officials met relatives of Omaid Khpalwak on Thursday and apologised for their “mistake” during an attack against insurgents, who had attacked a police command post.
Khpalwak, who was hiding in fear during the attack and spoke good English, was shot 11 times. His brother Jawid, who always maintained that his brother was killed by NATO forces, said his family remained angry at NATO’s actions on the day.
“They thought he was a suicide bomber, but how?” Jawid asked. “He spoke English and would have been showing his press card.”
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force issued a statement on Thursday expressing its condolences for the killing but said its forces on the day complied with the laws of armed conflict and had acted reasonably.
It released a two-page summary of its investigation into the incident on 28 July that said US forces were responding to an attack by insurgents on a police command post. After killing all the insurgents, US forces entered the building of the RTA compound where the iattack had started when two more suicide vests exploded. Gunfire was heard from the area.
The summary concludes: “Ahmad Omid (sic) Khpalwak was killed in a case of mistaken identity. He was shot by US forces who believed he was an insurgent that fired on them with a weapon and was subsequently taking action to detonate a suicide vest IED.”
While hiding in fear during the attack Omaid Khpalwak had texted his brother: “I am hiding. Death has come.” Then, soon after, “Pray for me if I die”.
He had worked for the BBC as its stringer in the southern province of Uruzgan, as well as an Afghan online news service. His brother said he was still receiving threats after speaking out against the foreign military.
“People are threatening me and my family. All 10 of us are very scared of staying in Uruzgan because of this,” said Jawid.
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