NOW:
Bush Says Jordan Bombings Show Terrorists as Ruthless (Update1)
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- --
...``The bombing should remind all of us that there's an enemy in the world that is willing to kill innocent people, willing to bomb a wedding celebration in order to advance their cause,'' Bush said.
and THEN:
Civilian catastrophe as US bombs Afghan wedding
- 250 civilians reported dead or injured
- Witnesses say attack lasted 2 hours
- Pentagon: 'One bomb went astray'
Guardian Staff and agencies
Monday July 1, 2002
rest of latter article below the fold...
From the Guardian:
US helicopter gunships and jets today fired on an Afghan wedding, killing or injuring at least 250 civilians, witnesses and hospital officials said.
The attack occurred in the village of Kakarak in Uruzgan province, in the south of the country, where special forces and other coalition troops were searching for remaining al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.
One survivor, Abdul Qayyum, told reporters at a Kandahar hospital that the attack began shortly after midnight and continued for more than two hours until US special forces ground troops moved into the area.
"The Americans came and asked me 'who fired on the helicopters', and I said 'I don't know' and one of the soldiers wanted to tie my hands but someone said he is an old man and out of the respect they didn't," he said.
Afghans often fire weapons during weddings in celebration.
Hospital officials said a number of wounded were being brought to Kandahar. Most of the dead and injured were women and children.
"We have many children who are injured and who have no family," nurse Mohammed Nadir said. "Their families are gone. The villagers brought these children and they have no parents. Everyone says that their parents are dead."
Another nurse, Sher Mohammed, said he heard that scores were dead and injured.
At Bagram air base north of Kabul, the US military spokesman, Colonel Roger King, said an AC-130 gunship, a B-52 bomber and other aircraft joined the attack after coalition ground forces came under fire.
"Right now there are a lot of different opinions as to what happened," Col King said. He said US investigators would be sent to the area.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said a coalition air reconnaissance patrol that was flying over Uruzgan province reported coming under anti-aircraft artillery fire.
Other coalition aircraft opened fire on the target and at least one bomb went astray.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear where the "errant" bomb hit. He said the Pentagon was aware of reports from Afghanistan of civilian casualties in Uruzgan province but it was unclear whether they were caused by the stray US bomb or by falling anti-aircraft artillery.