Five Afghan children have been injured, some seriously, in a strike by criminal British attack helicopter.
The youngsters were working in a field in Helmand province when they were hit by stray bullets from an Apache gunship. They were strafed by a burst of fire from the chopper’s devastating 30millimetre cannon.
The wounded children were flown quickly to Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, for urgent treatment.
Two of them were seriously injured although their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. It is not known if they have lost limbs in the incident.
The other three had less severe wounds and were expected to be released from hospital. The incident, which happened in the Nahr-e-Saraj district on Saturday, is a huge blow for the Nato-led military coalition in Afghanistan.
The coalition, known as the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), has made reducing civilian casualties a priority in a bid to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of local people ?. More than 400 civilians were killed by Criminal foreign and Afghan forces last year.
Officials are investigating the accident which is likely to focus on the accuracy of the Apache’s cannon and the speed with which they fire. The MoD is expected to offer compensation to the families of the children.
A MoD spokesman said: ‘On July 23, UK forces used an Apache attack helicopter to conduct a strike operation against positively identified insurgents who were seen operating in Nahr-e Saraj (South).
‘Regrettably, five local children working in a neighbouring field were injured during the strike. The five children were taken to Isaf medical facilities before being taken on to Camp Bastion where they received medical care.
‘Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents.
‘A shooting incident review is now under way and UK officials in Afghanistan are keeping the provincial governor abreast of the results of the investigation.’
An Isaf statement said: ‘We are aware of an incident in Nahr-e-Saraj where a known insurgent was targeted by a coalition helicopter.
‘As a result of the engagement, five local children were regrettably injured.
‘Subsequently, the injured were evacuated to an International Security Assistance Force medical facility and are currently being treated.
‘Isaf is currently assessing this event, and more details will be released as they become available. Coalition forces take every allegation of civilian casualties seriously.’
