Airstrike*on al Qaeda kills 7 children in Afghan madrassa - CNN.com

(If I were allowed to subtitle this story, it'd be called.. "This totally isn't propaganda or anything like that..")

(CNN) -- Seven children were killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on a compound in eastern Afghanistan where al Qaeda fighters were believed to be gathered on Sunday, according to a U.S. military statement.

Several militants were also killed and two were detained, according to the military.

A U.S. military spokesman said there was no sign of children around the targeted building before the airstrike was ordered.

"We had surveillance on the compound all day and saw no indications there were children inside the building," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, spokesman for the Coalition.

The military said other children who survived said that they were forced to stay inside the building throughout the day.

"Credible intelligence named the compound, which contained a mosque and a madrassa, as a suspected safehouse for al Qaeda fighters," the statement said. "Coalition forces confirmed the presence of nefarious activity occurring at the site before getting approval to conduct an airstrike on the location."

The military said that residents later confirmed that al Qaeda fighters had been present in the compound in Paktika province's Zarghun Shahr district all day Sunday.

"This is another example of al Qaeda using the protective status of a mosque, as well as innocent civilians, to shield themselves," Maj. Belcher said. "We are saddened by the innocent lives that were lost as a result of militants' cowardice."

The military said the mosque suffered only minor damage.

Our govt/military are such a bunch of fucking liars, and not even good ones.

Hiding behind children isn't very effective if the children can't be seen, now is it?

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you do have a point. I'm just hesitant to believe that the u.s. military would actually target children if they knew they were there.... but it's not inconceivable. But how are they supposed to ever "win" in afghanistan? Just keep bombing places and killing a few civilians in nearly every attempt? I hope that's not their strategy. How, really, to make things better there?

oh, sorry, I'm not saying they would deliberately target children, just that if I were a terrorist hiding behind children, I would make sure the children could be seen. the US military would probably still bomb you, but if the goal of hiding behind kids is to get the military to either (1) stop bombing you or (2) make the US military look bad because they were deliberately targeting places where kids are, this fails on both counts.


that's the million dollar question.
As to "their strategy", I don't think they have one.

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