Afghanistan war logs: 90,000 classified documents revealed by Wikileaks

Robert Winnett, Andy Bloxham Telegraph 07/25/2010 19:33

U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

Tens of thousands of secret American military documents have been leaked disclosing how Nato forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan.

The classified memos also reveal the secret efforts of coalition forces to hunt down and “kill or capture” senior Taliban and al-Qaeda figures.

And they document growing evidence that Iran and Pakistan is supporting the insurgency. Although many of the claims in the documents, of which there are more than 90,000, have been aired previously, the leak to the website Wikileaks is highly embarrassing. It was condemned by the White House last night, which said the information could threaten the safety of coalition operations.

The Ministry of Defence said it was still studying the leaked documents.

The most damaging allegations surround the killing of civilians by coalition troops. The documents claim that 195 civilians have been improperly killed and 174 wounded. Many were innocent motorcyclists or drivers shot after being suspected of being suicide bombers.

In one incident, a US patrol machine-gunned a bus, wounding or killing 15 passengers. Incidents involving British troops killing civilians in Kabul are also detailed.

Several civilian deaths were thought to have been caused by remote-controlled drones commanded from Nevada, thousands of miles away.

Many of the incidents have never previously been disclosed.

The memos also reveal the operations of a secret special forces “black unit” that is charged with the “kill or capture” without trial of Taliban leaders.