Afghan general unaware of any 'inappropriate conduct'
Last Updated: Thursday, January 1, 2009 | 6:38 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Related
In depth: Afghanistan
- Crossroads Afghanistan
- 2009 presidential election coverage
- Country profile
- Afghanistan: Beset by war, beleaguered by poverty
- Quick facts: Afghanistan at a glance
- A narrated Google Earth tour
The military mission
- Overview: Canada's forces in Afghanistan
- One bomb, many lives
- Canadian Press interactive on a Dec. 30, 2009 IED blast that killed four Canadian soldiers and a journalist.
- Database: Canada's casualties
- Analysis: Who's paying the ultimate price?
- Joint operations
- The pros and cons of teaming up with the U.S.
Background
Photos
- On the front line
- Photos from operations inside Afghanistan
- Soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan
External links
An Afghan army general who was on hand for October's bloody battle of Lashkar Gah said Thursday he has heard none of the allegations that prompted the Canadian Forces to announce an investigation into "inappropriate conduct" surrounding the death of a presumed Taliban insurgent.
Afghan National Army troops killed so many Taliban fighters during the defence of Helmand province's capital city two months ago, it's impossible to say how they all died, Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai said in an interview.
Afghan and NATO officials claimed at least 100 Taliban died in the three days of fighting, in which insurgents mounted a three-pronged attack on the city that ended Oct. 18.
"I don't know of any inappropriate way that Taliban were killed," Zazai said through an interpreter.
"So many were killed, I don't remember the exact way they were [all] killed."
The major crimes unit of Canada's military police is investigating a death that took place "on or about" Oct. 19 in Helmand — the day after the Lashkar Gah siege came to an end.
The deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar province, Col. Jamie Cade, said he learned Dec. 27 of the allegations. Few details have been released.
Cade said the military probe announced Wednesday will seek "to determine whether proper reporting procedures were followed" in the death of a "presumed" Taliban insurgent.
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, the unit that examines all incidents involving Canadian military personnel or property in Canada and abroad, is conducting the probe, Cade said.
Afghan soldiers in Helmand for the Lashkar Gah mission were being supervised by Canadian military mentors and were backed up by British forces. Zazai has said Canadians were also involved in the fighting.
Afghan and foreign troops eventually retook the Nad Ali district centre, which had been held by insurgents, after a three-day fight. That battle, which also involved air strikes, ended Oct. 18.
A Taliban spokesman denied any insurgents died in the battle. However, it is common for the Taliban to deny combat casualties.
Helmand province, just west of Kandahar, is a lawless and Taliban-heavy region of southern Afghanistan that's largely been the domain of the British NATO contingent.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Ottawa wins appeal to block RCMP union
- Ontario's Court of Appeal has overturned a 2009 ruling that said it was unconstitutional to prevent members of the RCMP from forming a labour association. more »
- 2,000 jobs cut as GM to close Oshawa plant
- The Canadian Auto Workers union says General Motors is going ahead with plans to close its consolidated plant in Oshawa, Ont. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- Flooding closes Toronto subway hub Union station
- The Toronto Transit Commission has closed a portion of the Yonge Street subway line because of what it says is severe flooding at Union station. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Gaza border clash kills Palestinian militant, Israeli soldier
- A Palestinian militant infiltrated into Israel and set off a shootout that left the infiltrator and one Israeli soldier dead, the military says. more »
- Mistrial declared in John Edwards case
- The campaign fraud trial of disgraced former U.S. senator John Edwards ended on Thursday with an acquittal on one of six counts and a mistrial declared on the remaining charges. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- How manhunts work
- A nation-wide manhunt, like the one being undertaken to find suspected killer Luka Rocco Magnotta, is a highly co-ordinated exercise that isn't quite as gritty or dramatic as it may seem in TV police shows. more »
Dispatches »
- Child "bomberitos" on Peru's most dangerous highway May. 31, 2012 3:34 PM The bomberito children of the Andes hitch homemade carts to passing transport trucks -- to aid motorists and victims of disasters in mountains that were once the domain of Peru's Shining Path rebels. They risk their lives for tips that help feed their families.
Connect Newsroom Blog
The Hunt for Magnotta and #bullyPROOF May. 31, 2012 7:32 PM Tonight we'll take you deep inside the dark recesses of the internet for a closer look what's being posted and who watching it.
- Body-parts victim ID'd as Chinese student in Montreal
- Edmonton teacher suspended for giving 0s
- Owner defends 'gore' site connected to Luka Magnotta
- New duty-free limits will challenge Canadian retailers
- Quebec student talks collapse and more protests loom
- Tree faller plunges to death as bucket breaks
- Bear pulls corpse from car near Kamloops
- Copyright board to charge for music at weddings, parades
- Last chance to see Venus transit across sun

