The U.S. military’s investigation into an Aug. 22 operation that killed a disputed number civilians in western Afghanistan says 55 people were killed and blames the incident on militants who "chose fighting positions in close proximity to civilians."
In an executive summary of the investigation released late Wednesday, the military said 33 civilians — including "a minimum" of three women and 12 children — were killed along with 22 alleged "Anti-Coalition Militants."
The raid, which took place near Azizabad in the western Herat province, was launched based on intelligence that some two dozen militants were holding a meeting there.
The investigating officer concluded that the raid was within the military’s rules of engagement and did not break laws of war.
In the days after the incident, Afghan and United Nations officials say 90 civilians were killed. The U.S. military insisted at first that an initial investigation showed only "5 to 7" civilians were killed.
But, in early September, Gen. David McKiernan ordered the investigation reopened based on new information, including videos and still photos of victims and graves.
The report was based on "28 interviews resulting in more than 20 hours of recorded testimony from Afghan government officials, Afghan village elders, officials from IGOs/NGOs, U.S. and Afghan servicemembers, 236 documents and 11 videos."
Some of the footage was taken by U.S. forces, and some was "raw footage and edited" videos from Fox News, the report said.
The U.S. military investigation, conducted by Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael W. Callan, said the reports and claims by Afghan and other officials "lack independent evidence" to support the higher death tolls.
Similarly, the report said civilian casualty lists compiled by villagers were not reliable because of "investigative shortfalls and Afghan cultural realities" such as a lack of birth certificates and "inconsistent burial evidence."
The investigation found that no condolence payments have been made by the U.S. military, but that the Afghan government has given $2,000 to each family of the alleged 90 civilians killed, along with $1,000 to families of the wounded, along with a government-sponsored trip to the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The incident — and other civilian deaths — has been a major source of tension between the Afghan government and international forces in the country.
"We are deeply saddened at the loss of innocent life in Azizabad," Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the acting head of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement after the report’s executive summary was released.
"We go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan in all our operations, but as we have seen all too often, this ruthless enemy routinely surround themselves with innocents."
Recommendations in Callan’s report include making sure Afghan and NGO officials are included in future investigations.
