Afghan cleric shot dead by Western troops; NATO apologizes
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:16PM LA TIMES
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - Western troops traveling through the capital of Afghanistan in a military convoy Thursday shot dead an Islamic cleric, apparently mistaking him for a would-be suicide bomber, officials and witnesses said.
NATO acknowledged that its forces had fired on what appeared to be a "threatening vehicle," and expressed regret over the death. Afghan police said two of the cleric's children were in the car with him, but that they were unhurt.
The incident took place hours before Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking to a major security conference in London, urged that greater care be taken when foreign troops come into contact with civilians.
The fatal shooting, which occurred during morning rush hour, took place close to a U.S. military base on the city's eastern edge that had been the scene of a suicide car bombing two days earlier. Eight Western troops and at least half a dozen Afghan civilians were injured in that blast, outside an installation known as Camp Phoenix.
After Thursday's shooting, protesters staged a small but angry demonstration near the gates of the base, blocking traffic and shouting anti-American slogans.
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