Afghans protest NATO raid for second day

Afghans, for the second consecutive day, staged an anti-NATO rally to protest the killing of civilians by foreign troops in the country.

The protesters in the district of Qarabagh in Ghazni Province on Friday vented their anger against what they said was the killing of four innocent civilians, including two children, in Qarabagh on Wednesday and also against the threatening behavior of NATO-led forces.

One protester, Mullah Shoaib, claimed that the Afghan homes are searched by the troops and that the civilians are threatened with dogs.

“These people, these foreigners who attacked this house, showed how wild and cruel they are,” said Hashim Nasiri, another protester.

NATO in defense said the raid in the Qarabagh district had targeted a Taliban commander, and that the four killed were suspected militants — one of whom was a 15-year-old boy.

The civilian death toll of the Afghan war, stretching into its ninth year, has sparked a public outcry.

The United Nations says 2009 was the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the US-led invasion, with nearly 2,500 civilians killed.