Afghan Baby Shot Dead In Botched US Raid

A US troop raid on a suspected al-Queda link in Afghanistan went tragically awry Wednesday, resulting in the death of five civilians, including a seven-day-old baby. The nighttime raid in the eastern province of Khost, though carefully orchestrated, fell into chaos when villagers mistook the US soldiers for raiding thieves. From the Telegraph:

Troops targeting a militant linked to the radical Haqqani network and the Islamic Jihad Union surrounded a compound in the raid in the eastern province of Khost.However during the raid a neighbouring family, appearing to fear the village was under attack by thieves, opened fire on the US forces.

A US military statement said: "The combined forces returned fire, killing two males, two females and wounding two females. There are reports of an infant also killed. Coalition and Afghan forces do not believe that this family was involved with militant activities and that they were defending their home against an unknown threat."

Villagers said the dead were the wife, daughter, son and brother of an Afghan army colonel. The baby is thought to have also suffered gunshot sounds and died later in hospital.

Civilian casualties have long plagued the NATO presence in Afghanistan, and by extension, Pakistan. According to Reuters, the US commander in the region, Brig. General Michael Ryan, issued an apologetic statement Thursday, saying: "We deeply regret the tragic loss of life in this precious family. Words alone cannot begin to express our regret and sympathy and we will ensure the surviving family members are properly cared for."