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| Afghanistan |
| The bride looked so natural... |
| 2002-05-17 |
| At least 10 Afghan tribesmen feuding over land were killed in eastern Afghanistan when U.S. planes bombed their positions after shooting erupted on the ground. The shooting and subsequent bombardment took place after dark Thursday night, Khost security chief Sur Gul said. Two tribes, the Sabari and the Balkhiel, were skirmishing over ownership of a swath of trees that sit on a mountain near their villages, a major town in eastern Afghanistan. Shooting erupted, Sur Gul said, and U.S. planes came along shortly afterward and began to drop bombs. Operation Condor was taking place in the same general area. Sur Gul said at least 10 people were killed on both sides from the American bombardment. He had no information on injuries. "We don't know why the U.S. planes fired," Sur Gul said. An intelligence official in Khost, Chenar Gul, said some tribesmen shot in the air toward at least one U.S. plane passing overhead. Y'know, that might have had something to do with it... The Afghan Islamic Press agency, quoting unidentified officials from Khost, gave a different reason for the deaths. It said a marriage ceremony was taking place in Balkhiel on Thursday night, and men fired automatic rifles in the air as part of wedding tradition. Two U.S. helicopters were nearby, the news agency said, and U.S. planes arrived shortly thereafter and bombarded the area. If that story's true — and we have no reason to believe that it is, since it's reported by Afghan Islamic Press — it would seem that the tribesmen should immediately add |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 ROFL... give me a hand Fred... I'm on the floor laughing so hard I can't get up! Mary Lu |
| Posted by: Mary Wehmeier 2002-05-17 16:35:06 |