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Australia confirms Afghan governor killed in firefight

A district governor in Afghanistan was killed in a firefight involving Australian special forces soldiers, Australia’s military said yesterday.

Chora District Governor Rozi Khan Barekzai was among a number of people killed when an Australian patrol became involved in a firefight on Thursday near their Tarin Kowt base, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said in a statement.

“It is not possible at this time to determine that he was killed by ADF fire,” the military said.

Australian special forces commandos were moving on foot when they were fired on by unknown attackers, returning fire in self-defense, the statement said.

“Initial reporting indicates that a number of local nationals were killed or wounded in the exchange of fire,” it said, adding Afghan National Police had also been in the vicinity.

Local reports said Khan went to help a friend who mistakenly told him his house was under Taliban attack when it was actually surrounded by international forces, who in turn mistook Khan’s party for militants, Australian media said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office said Khan, a former mujahidin commander and ally of the president, was killed in a “misunderstanding” involving “foreign troops” and Afghan security forces,” Australian media reports said.

Provincial Police Chief General Juma Gulab Khan told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that two bodyguards were killed and another two injured in the firefight.

The botched raid comes just days after NATO’s commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, called for a review of combat methods after as many as 92 civilians were killed in a stray US airstrike.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday that the details of the incident were still too sketchy for him to comment fully.

The deaths of Afghan civilians by foreign soldiers is a sensitive issue in the war-ravaged country where more than 60,000 international troops are attempting to restore security following the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001.

The Australian military said it would work closely with the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan authorities to investigate the latest deaths.

“The Australian Defence Force takes all such incidents very seriously and is conducting an assessment to clarify the circumstances of the attack,” it said.
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