Karzai: Pakistan Firing Rockets Into Afghanistan

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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=13932266

Karzai: Pakistan Firing Rockets Into Afghanistan

By RAHIM FAIEZ and SOLOMON MOORE Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan June 26, 2011 (AP)

President Hamid Karzai on Sunday accused Pakistan of firing 470 rockets into two

eastern Afghan provinces over the past three weeks, a deadly rain of artillery

that Afghan officials said killed 36 people, including 12 children.

The attacks came in areas of Kunar and Nangahar provinces where NATO forces have

withdrawn, and where Pakistani Taliban moved in behind fleeing civilians, Afghan

border officials said.

Karzai indicated Pakistani government forces are responsible for the

bombardment, and " they should be stopped immediately. " And " if they are not

being carried out by Pakistan, Pakistan should make it clear who is behind the

attacks, " he said in a statement issued by the presidential palace.

Afghan security officials said joint NATO and Afghan border units have fired

back into Pakistan, but NATO and Pakistan military officials denied any

knowledge of border skirmishes.

NATO reported, meanwhile, that five service members were killed in at least

three insurgent attacks in western, southern, and eastern Afghanistan on Sunday.

The international coalition gave no other details. The deaths bring to at least

53 the number of NATO service members killed in June, and to more than 200 this

year.

Karzai said he discussed the rocket barrage with Pakistani President Asif Ali

Zadari during an anti-terrorism conference in Tehran on Saturday, the same day

the Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman warned that Afghanistan would defend

itself.

" The government of Pakistan should understand that there will be a reaction for

killing Afghan citizens, " said spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi.

The Afghan president said he also discussed the border attack with Afghan NATO

commander Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry during his

regular national security council meeting on Sunday.

American and Afghan officials have pressured Pakistan to end its security

forces' long-standing relationship with the Taliban movement, viewed as a tool

for Pakistani influence over strategically placed Afghanistan. Such major

artillery support for a Taliban operation, however, would be one of the most

blatant recent examples of Pakistani support and bodes ill for the testy

relationship among the three countries.

Afghan border police spokesman Edris Mohmand, who reported 36 Afghans killed by

the rockets, including 12 children, said 2,000 families have fled districts

threatened by the barrage, including Asmar and Nangalam in Kunar, and Goshta

district in Nangahar.

" All these attacks have been from Pakistan's side and for sure they are

Pakistani weapons being used against innocent Afghans, " Mohmand said. " The

border police in the eastern region have been equipped with heavy artillery but

we are waiting for orders from the interior minister. "

NATO has recently withdrawn many of its combat troops from forward operating

bases and combat outposts in Kunar and Nangarhar. Both provinces continue to be

heavily contested by Taliban fighters.

Spokesman Azimi said the Afghan Defense Ministry " asks the president of Pakistan

to stop the artillery firing and compensate the losses caused. "

Violence has been on the rise across Afghanistan since the country's Taliban

Islamists launched a spring offensive and promised retaliation for the death of

al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a U.S. raid in Pakistan on May 2.

The deadliest single attack since February occurred on Saturday in eastern

Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber blew up his sport utility vehicle at a health

clinic while women and children lined up for maternity care and vaccinations. At

least 35 were killed.

The vehicle smashed through a wall at the Akbarkhail Public Medical Center

before anyone could shoot the driver or blow out the tires, local officials

said. The force of the blast caused the building to collapse.

Survivors frantically dug through the rubble with shovels and bare hands. At

least 53 other people were wounded, said the provincial public health director,

Dr. Mohammad Zaref Nayebkhail.

" They were offering important services for the people. We had very good services

and lots of patients. There were only 10 beds but lots of other services in that

center. It's why the casualties were so high, " he said.

Wary of being blamed for civilian casualties, the Taliban denied it was behind

the bombing in Azra district in Logar province.

" This attack was not done by our fighters, " Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid

told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The Taliban claims it does not target civilians, but the movement is fractured

and Saturday's attacks shared characteristics of other recent violence.

A recent U.N. report found that May was the deadliest month for civilians since

it began keeping track in 2007, and it said insurgents were to blame for 82

percent of the 368 deaths recorded.

" They were offering important services for the people. We had very good services

and lots of patients. There were only 10 beds but lots of other services in that

center. It's why the casualties were so high, " he said.

Wary of being blamed for civilian casualties, the Taliban denied it was behind

the bombing in Azra district in Logar province.

" This attack was not done by our fighters, " Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid

told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The Taliban claims it does not target civilians, but the movement is fractured

and Saturday's attacks shared characteristics of other recent violence.

A recent U.N. report found that May was the deadliest month for civilians since

it began keeping track in 2007, and it said insurgents were to blame for 82

percent of the 368 deaths recorded.