In many cases, the unit set out to capture a target for internment, and in others he simply killed them, not trying to catch. Logs show that TF 373 was also killed civilian men, women and children and even the Afghan police, who deflected in its path.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Professor Philip Alston, have gone to Afghanistan in May 2008, an investigation of rumors of extrajudicial executions. He warned that the international forces are neither transparent nor responsibility and that the Afghans, who were trying to find out who killed their loved ones, often go away empty-handed, and bitterly disappointed. "
Now, for the first time, the diversion of war journals reveal details of the deadly missions TF 373 and other units hunting Jpel goals that were previously hidden behind a screen of disinformation. They raise fundamental questions about the legality of murder and lengthy jail terms without trial, as well as the influence of pragmatic tactics, by its very nature can kill, injure and alienate innocent civilians whose support the coalition craves.
In the night of Monday 11 June 2007, leaked magazine shows, the working group set out with the Afghan special forces to seize or kill a Taliban commander named Qarl Ur-Rahman, in a valley near Jalalabad. When they approached the target in the dark, some light torch on them. Gunfight developed and the task force called in AC-130 helicopter, which strafed the area with cannon: "The original mission was aborted and TF 373 broke contact and returned to base. Final report: July ANP x KIA, 4 x WIA ". Translated into simple language: they found that people were filming in the dark, the Afghan police, of whom seven have died and 4 injured.
Coalition put out a press release which referred to the shooting and air support, and then not officially declare that they have just been killed or wounded 11 police officers. But, apparently fearing that the truth might leak, he added: "There was nothing to indicate the shooting opposing force was friendly. Individuals who opened fire on coalition forces were not in uniform." The participation of TF 373 is not mentioned, and the story did not come.
Nonetheless, the incident immediately jumped in the fragile ties that other elements of the coalition trying to build with local communities. The internal report shows that the following day Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Phillips, commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, takes senior officers to meet the provincial governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, who agreed that it was "unfortunate incident, which occurred in a circle of friends." They agreed to compensate the families of the victims and Phillips reiterated our support to prevent these types of events occurring again. "
However, later in the week, Sunday 17 June, and hosted Sherzai "shura council, which he tried to persuade tribal leaders about the safety of operations by coalition forces, TF 373 began another mission, hundreds of miles to the south in the province of Paktika. This goal was the notorious Libyan fighter, Abu al-Libi Light. The block was armed with a new weapon, known as HIMARS - High Mobility Artillery rocket system - six rocket pod on the back of a small truck.
It was planned to launch five missiles at targets in the village Nangar Hel, where TF 373 was considered Libi hiding, and then send in ground troops. The result was that they were unable to find, but Libi killed six Taliban fighters and then, when they approached the wreckage of madrasas, they found "an initial assessment of 7 x NC KIA", which translates as seven non-combatants killed in action. All of them were children. One of them was still alive in the ruins: "Med TM immediately cleared of debris by mouth and CPR. After 20 minutes the child died.
Children
The coalition made a statement to the press, which belonged to the death of children, and said that troops "have been monitoring the compound all day and saw no signs were children inside the building." This statement is consistent with leakage of the journal. The press release also said that Taliban fighters, who were undoubtedly in the mix, used children as shields.
The magazine refers to unnamed "senior", which is said to have stated that children are held against their will ", but against this, there is no indication any of the Taliban in the madrassas, where children have died.
The other press release, of course, misleading. He suggested that the coalition forces attacked the compound because of the "nefarious activities" there, if the reality is that they are there to kill or capture Libi.
The report made no mention at all Libi, or the failure of the mission (although it was later revealed NBC News in the United States). It is very important that he could not officially declare that TF 373 fired five missiles, the destruction of madrassas and other buildings and killing seven children, before someone shot at him - that this looked like a mission to kill, not capture. In fact, it was clear deliberately suppressed.
The internal report was marked not only the "secret", but "Noforn", ie will not be shared with foreign elements of the coalition. A source of this anxiety is clear: "it is known that TF 373 went on strike HIMARS must be protected." And it was. This important fact has remained a mystery, as well as participation in the TF 373.
Again, the deadliest attack has caused political problems. Governor organized and conducted compensation shura with local leaders, when, according to internal U.S. report, "he pressed Talking points to it and added a few of their own, which was followed in accordance with our current history." Libby remained targeted for death and was killed in Pakistan, seven months later, a rocket with unmanned CIA Predator.
Despite this, tensions between political and military operations, TF 373 has continued to participate in the devastating attacks. Four months later, on October 4, they face Taliban fighters in a village called Laswanday, only 6 miles from the village where they killed seven children. Taliban appears to have abated by then, TF 373 was summoned air support to drop 500lb bombs on the house, from which militants fired.
The end result is listed in the dry end of the leak of the journal: 12 U.S. wounded, two teenage girls and a 10-year-old boy shot, killed one girl, one woman killed, four civilians were killed and one killed by a donkey, a dog killed a few chickens killed should kill an enemy, an enemy is wounded, not an enemy detained.
Coalition put out a statement falsely claiming that he had killed several militants and no mention of dead civilians, and later added that "several non-combatants were found dead and several injured" without any numbers or details.
At this time, the political groups have tried much less a compromise with local residents. Despite the discovery that the dead civilians came from one family, one of whom was found with his hands tied behind his back, suggesting that the Taliban were unwelcome intruders in their home, senior officials visited the affected villages, where they are "stressed that guilt in the deaths of innocent lies with rural residents who did not resist the rebels and their anti-government activities ... [and] punish the peasant, condemned the compound fire. Nevertheless, the internal report concluded that "virtually no protest" in connection with the incident.
Concealment:
Hiding the role of TF 373 is a constant theme. There was a global publicity in October 2009 when U.S. helicopters were involved in two separate crashes in one day, but even then it was hidden, and that 4 soldiers who were killed in one incident with the TF 373.
To achieve these "high-value purposes, apparently deeply embedded in the coalition tactics. List Jpel assigns an individual serial number for each of those objects to kill or seize, and in October 2009 it reached 2058.
Selection process for the purposes of reaching the highest in command. They published the U.S. Field Manual against the rebels, № FM3-24, the policy choice of targets "involved as potential allies against the rebels, aims to isolate from the population and to eliminate problems.
Joint orientation working group meets weekly to consider the nomination of targets and has direct access from the Combined Forces Command and division headquarters, as well as lawyers, operational command and intelligence units, including the CIA.
Among those listed as located and killed by TF 373 are the Shah Agha, described as an intelligence officer IED cell, who was killed along with four other men on June 1, 2009, Amir Jan. Mutaki, described how the Taliban to the south of the commander, who organized ambush on coalition forces, who had been shot out of the air in the TF 373 mission on 24 June 2009 and codenamed Task Ballentine, who was killed Nov. 16, 2009 during an attack in the village Lewani, in which local woman died.
Magazines contain links to tracking and killing of other targets in the list Jpel, which do not identify TF 373 as the unit responsible. It is possible that some other names and phone numbers of the task force, which appear in this context is a cover of 373 names, or British special forces, 500 of which are located in the southern part of Afghanistan, and reportedly had been involved in a murder / capture of the mission, including the shooting in July 2008, Mullah Bismullah.
Some of these "no 373" operations involve the use of unmanned aircraft to fire missiles to kill the target: one code-named Beethoven, Oct. 20, 2008, 1 named Janan November 6, 2008, as well as the unnamed target Jpel who was injured in the fire of hell missiles near Khan Neshina on August 21, 2009 during a trip in a car with other passengers (journal entries "not squirters [bodies moving about] recorded").
Other objectives Jpel were traced and bombed from the air. One, code-named Newcastle, was with four other men, 26 November 2007. In the house they were then hit 500lb bombs. "There is no distinguishing marks to recover," the magazine notes.
Two other goals Jpel, identified only by serial number, were killed Feb. 16, 2009, when two F-15 bombers dropped four 500lb bombs on the target Jpel: "There are various and conflicting reports from different sources reported civilian casualties ... many local citizens were on site during the investigation shows the hostile attitude so the investigation team not to continue sorting the site.
One of the magazines leakage provides a summary of the conference March 8, 2008, when the then head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, said a senior U.S. military officers, three named commanders of the Taliban in Kapisa province, "are not compatible and should be out." A senior officer of the coalition, said that he would meet with NDS Kapisa to determine how to approach this issue. "
It is not clear whether "taken out" means "killed" and the journals do not record any of their deaths. But one of them, Kari Baryal, which ranked seventh in the list Jpel, already earmarked for the murder two months ago.
January 12, 2008, after tracking his movements for 24 hours, the coalition found that he was holding a big meeting with other men in a complex in Pashkari and sent the planes, which dropped six 500lb bombs and fired with 5 runs to shoot those who fled scene.
The report reflects that about 70 people fled the compound and began digging in the ruins, which were "pools of blood," but subsequent reports indicated that Baryal survived and continues to plan rocket attacks and suicide bombings.
Numerous magazines Jpel goals was captured and handed over to a special prison, known as Btif, the Bagram Theater Internment. There is no sign of prisoners trial, as well as previous press speculated that people were detained there years without any legal proceedings in a communal cell in the huge old hangars air. As each goal in captivity, he was appointed a serial number. In December 2009, it shows that a total of 4288 prisoners, some under the age of 16, was held in Btif, with 757 still in custody.
Who TF373?
Leakage of war journals show that the target group 373 uses at least three bases in Afghanistan, Kabul, Kandahar and Khost. Although it works with special forces from Afghanistan and other countries in the coalition, it seems, drawing its troops from the Seventh Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and leave a trip to Chinook and Cobra helicopters flown by the 160th regiment of special air based at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
