Civilians killed at wedding

last updated 8 January 2015

Oruzgan, Afghanistan

Afghan villagers said at least 40 people, mostly women, died after a bomb hit a wedding celebration in southern Afghanistan this week. The Pentagon said that while one of its B-52s did send a 2,000-pound bomb astray in that area, officials were not sure whether the civilians were killed by the bomb or by enemy anti-aircraft guns. Initial reports suggested that U.S. forces might have mistaken celebratory gunfire at the wedding for hostile fire. But soldiers said they were being targeted directly. “I don’t know what was going on in this village,” U.S. military spokesman Col. Roger King said, “except there were people shooting at coalition forces with heavy-caliber machine guns.” The U.S. military and the Afghan government are investigating.