Telegraph

Truth and lies of Taliban's death claims By Macer Hall and David Wastell (Filed: 04/11/2001)

FAR fewer Afghan civilians have been killed in bombing raids by American aircraft than Taliban propaganda has claimed, according to a military intelligence report obtained by The Telegraph.

Investigations carried out using observation satellites and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, in addition to Special Forces troops and spies inside Taliban-held territory, have found little evidence of collateral damage.

It is estimated that about 300 civilians have been killed since the air campaign began four weeks ago, a fraction of the 1,600 deaths claimed by the Taliban.

While the Allied commanders of Operation Enduring Freedom have expressed regret at any civilian casualties in the conflict, there has been increasing scepticism about the death tolls suggested by the Taliban.

The report from the Ministry of Defence, based on Allied intelligence from Afghanistan, showed that most of their claims were fabricated. The report said: "The Taliban is engaged in a deliberate policy of disinformation in an attempt to undermine support for the allied attacks on the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

"Their propaganda campaign follows a simple pattern. It seeks to develop incrementally a perception that the allied military campaign is causing widespread civilian casualties through indiscriminate bombing." The report obtained by The Telegraph goes through many of the claims:

Case No 1: A hospital and OAP home, Herat, October 21

The claim: The Taliban said more than 100 civilians were killed when US and British jets bombed a building described as both a hospital and a home for the elderly in the western Afghan city of Herat.

The truth: The US has admitted that a bomb aimed at a Taliban army barracks in the city missed its target because of a technical failure and hit another building.

The report says: "Subsequent evidence has cast considerable doubt on the claim that the hospital building sustained damage to any great extent. The building most likely to be the hospital is located some considerable distance from where the stray bomb landed.

"It is extremely doubtful whether the blast would have caused anything more than slight superficial damage to the building itself.

"While we cannot offer a precise figure for how many, if any, civilian casualties may have occurred, Taliban claims in the region of 100 are not supported by the available evidence."

Case No 2: A mosque, Kandahar, October 29

The claim: The Taliban said that a mosque in Kanadahar was bombed, causing civilian casualties.

The truth: The Allied report on this allegation is blunt. "This is not true," it says. "Our mission records show that no air strikes occurred in this immediate area at the time.

"The closest operation was some considerable distance away and no civilian structures were in the proximity. Moreover, all of the bombs dropped have been accounted for."

Case No 3: A clinic, Kandahar, October 31

The claim: The Taliban alleged that a US aircraft destroyed a clinic run by the Red Crescent, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, killing 11 civilians and seriously injuring 25.

The truth: The report said: "Unusually, the Taliban was specific with regard to location. This enabled a rapid inquiry into the claims.

"US sources are adamant that the building hit was a legitimate military target. A Red Crescent hospital building and dispensary were in the general vicinity - although hundreds of metres away - and were undamaged."

Case No 4: A village, Karam, October 10

The claim: More than 300 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed by a US air strike on the village, according to the Taliban, who also said that 160 bodies had been recovered from the rubble.

The truth: The report accepted that the village could have been hit by mistake during an attack on a military base hidden on a hillside.

It added: "While it is possible that some civilians have been killed, we caution against believing wilder Taliban claims which are predictably exaggerated and self-serving. It is instructive to note that subsequent evidence did not corroborate claims of such high numbers of casualties."

Case No 5: Civilian homes, Kabul, October 13

The claim: The Taliban said an unspecified number of civilians died when a US missile hit a civilian area of the city.

The truth: The report said: "The US has acknowledged that one of its missiles accidentally struck a populated area in Kabul killing or injuring a number of civilians."

Allied commanders say the accuracy of satellite-guided missiles and bombs is minimising collateral damage, but they admit that some civilians have been killed by stray weapons. The report said, however, that Taliban figures for these incidents were much higher than those obtained by military intelligence.

Officials have been unwilling to release an estimate of civilian casualty numbers because the Taliban have refused to allow independent monitoring of the situation. The incidents investigated in the report, however, indicate that the total is below 300.

Pentagon officials are dismayed by the extent of Taliban disinformation because of its impact on the battle for "hearts and minds" being fought in the Middle East. They also believe that intelligence resources that would otherwise be applied to the war have to be diverted to check out casualty claims.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2001

Answers

Good post! I've forwarded this one to several on my list.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2001