Karzai's Cousin Killed by Coalition Forces, Says President's Brother
Photo: VOA
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother said Thursday that NATO-led forces mistakenly killed a cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai during operations in southern Afghanistan.
Provincial council chief Ahmad Wali Karzai said Yar Mohammad Khan was killed at his home in the Dand district of Kandahar province late Wednesday as coalition forces pursued insurgents in the area.
Afghan and NATO officials are investigating the incident.
Earlier on Thursday, the coalition said NATO and Afghan forces captured a Taliban leader, killed an armed individual and detained several suspected insurgents during operations in Kandahar city on Wednesday. It's unclear whether the individual reportedly killed in those operations is Karzai's cousin.
President Karzai has called the killing of civilians in NATO operations unacceptable. On Thursday, he urged the United Nations to put pressure on NATO to exercise greater care in protecting civilians while pursuing insurgents.
Mr Karzai last week rejected an apology from General David Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, after a NATO airstrike killed nine boys in northeastern Kunar province.
Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan, German troops accidentally killed a woman during a gun battle Wednesday in the Chardara district of Kunduz province, police said. Coalition officials said Thursday they were investigating the incident.
Also Thursday, NATO says a roadside bomb killed one of its service members in southern Afghanistan.
This week, the United Nations reported the number of war-related civilian deaths increased 15 percent last year.
Comments (3)
Nice! Let's start another war in the Middle East and go around killing people!
Collateral damage... Nice, is not it! I am quite furious about killing civilians. No democracy is worth extra deaths, however collateral!!!
Writers 1 & 2: Al Qaida started the war in NYC and the Taliban extended it by giving Al Qaida a home base. Both guilty; both being punished. More Muslim's killed by them than by NATO. Russia is proof that democracy goes down the toilet, if the people aren't willing to sacrifice their lives for it. Putins happy,are you?
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Hamid Karzai was said to be "extremely sad" over the shooting
A relative of the Afghan president Hamid Karzai has been mistakenly shot dead by NATO troops, according to officials. Yar Mohammad Khan, who was in his 60s was killed during a night raid in the . Khan, who also possibly used the surname of Karzai, was believed to have been a cousin of either the president or a cousin of the president's father.

The president's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, released a statement over the shooting. He said, "It was a mistake. The forces conducted an operation, he was at his home, he came out and was shot. It was a mistake. What can you do about it?" Several officials have apologised for the incident including United States president Barack Obama, US defence secretary , and commander of international troops in Afghanistan .

Khan's death come only days after President Karzai called the killing of civilians unacceptable. The president urged the United Nations to pressure NATO to take more care during operations when searching for insurgents. Karzai rejected a previous apology from General Petraeus over the killing of nine boys during an air strike.