US soldiers destroyed images taken by Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday. They were warned not to publish or air any images of US troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
A freelance photographer working for the Associated Press and a cameraman working for AP Television News said a US soldier deleted their photos and video showing a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death about 100 yards from the suicide bombing. The AP plans to lodge a protest with the American military.
Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said US forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the Marine convoy. The US military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack. The US and Afghan officials said eight Afghans died and 34 were wounded in the violence. One Marine was also injured.
The photographer, Rahmat Gul, said witnesses at the scene told him the three had been shot to death by US forces fleeing the attack. The two AP freelancers arrived at the site about a half hour after the suicide bombing, Gul said. “When I went near the four-wheel drive, I saw the Americans taking pictures of the same car, so I started taking pictures,” Gul said. “Two soldiers with a translator came and said, ‘Why are you taking pictures? You don’t have permission.’“
Gul said the US troops took his camera, deleted his photos and returned it to him. The journalists came across another American, showed their identification cards, and he agreed that they could take pictures. It wasn’t clear why the accredited journalists would need permission to take photos of a civilian car on a public highway, AP said.
Khanwali Kamran, a reporter for the Afghan channel Ariana Television, was in a small group of journalists working alongside Gul. Kamran said the American soldiers also deleted his footage. “They warned me that if it is aired ... then, ‘You will face problems,’“ Kamran said.
Taqiullah Taqi, a reporter for Afghanistan’s largest television station, Tolo TV, said Americans used abusive language. “According to the translator, they said, ‘Delete them, or we will delete you," Taqi told AP.
A freelance cameraman for AP Television News said that about 100 yards from the bomb site, a US officer told him that he could not go any closer to the scene but that he could shoot footage. The cameraman asked not to be named for his own safety.
“Then I started filming the suicide attack site, where there was a body and US soldiers, and farther away, there was a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death,” he said. As he was filming, he said, a US soldier and translator “ordered us not to move.” The cameraman said they were very angry and deleted any footage that included the Americans, as well as part of an interview from a demonstration. Hundreds of Afghans had gathered to protest the violence.
“The same soldier who took my camera came again and deleted my photos,” Gul said. “The soldier was very angry ... I told him, ‘They gave us permission,’ but he didn’t listen.” Gul’s new photos were also deleted, and the American, speaking through a translator, warned him that he did not want to see any AP photos published anywhere. The American also raised his fist in anger as if he were going to hit him, but he did not strike.
A Western military official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to release the information said the troops were Marine Special Operations Forces, the Marine Corps component created in February 2006 of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Lt Col David Accetta, a US military spokesman, said he did not have any confirmed reports that coalition forces “have been involved in confiscating cameras or deleting images.”
Reporters Without Borders condemned the actions of the US forces, saying they dealt with the press poorly. “Why did the soldiers do it if they don’t have anything to hide? The situation is very tense in Afghanistan, and the media should be able to report about it freely and safely,” said Jean-Francois Julliard, a spokesman for the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
