Civilian casualties

Kabul

At least eight civilians were killed and 35 wounded in eastern Afghanistan this week, as U.S. Marines fought off an ambush. The Marines were traveling on a busy road that leads to the Pakistani border when a van loaded with explosives rammed their convoy and blew up. Just after the explosion, the Marines said, gunfire came at them from multiple directions. But wounded Afghans said there was no gunfire except from the Marines, who they said shot recklessly as they fled. “They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway,” said Tur Gul, who was shot in the hand. Protesters shut down the road for hours after the fight, shouting “Down with the U.S.!” Separately, Afghan authorities said that an errant NATO airstrike on a rural compound killed nine people from one family, including several women and children and an elderly man.

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