PETRAEUS: AFGHANS BURNED THEIR OWN CHILDREN

"To the shock of President Hamid Karzai's aides, Gen. David H. Petraeus suggested Sunday at the presidential palace that Afghans caught up in a coalition attack in northeastern Afghanistan might have burned their own children to exaggerate claims of civilian casualties... (Petraeus is quoted as saying) that in the midst of the [operation] some pro-Taliban parents in contact with a government official decided to create a civilian casualty claim to pressure international forces to cease the [operation]. They burned hands and legs of some of their children and sent them to the hospital."

"... U.S. and Afghan officials are investigating what happened during the three- to four-day operation in the mountains of Ghaziabad district... U.S. military officials said there is no evidence that civilians died. The governor of Konar, Fazlullah Wahidi, disagreed, citing reports from villagers that dozens of women and children perished. Karzai's office placed the civilian death toll at 50..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022104514.html