Afghans say NATO killed 2 students as bomber attacks UN office

KABUL
Afghan officials accused NATO-led troops of killing two school boys in central Afghanistan on Saturday after a patrol came under fire by Taliban insurgents, as three suicide bombers wearing police uniforms and burqas attacked the UN office in western city of Herat on Saturday, senior police and UN officials said.
Civilian casualties caused by international troops while fighting insurgents are an emotive issue in Afghanistan, causing friction between President Hamid Karzai’s government and its Western allies.
A statement released by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said two civilians had possibly been killed in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province, west of Kabul, when insurgents attacked the patrol.
“During the attack, three Afghan citizens on a motorcycle entered the engagement area. Two of them fell off the vehicle and were taken away by local villagers,” ISAF said.
However, Shahedullah Shahed, a spokesman for the Wardak governor, said ISAF troops had fired indiscriminately and killed two students about 50 km west of Kabul when a rocket was fired at their convoy. Meanwhile, no casualties were reported in the attack on the UN office.
“There were no casualties among UN workers,” Delawar Shah Delawar, deputy police chief of Herat told AFP after the raid, which was claimed by the Taliban.
“One of the suicide attackers drove his explosives-packed vehicle into the rear gate of the compound. The two other attackers tried to enter the building after the blast but they were killed by guards and policemen,” he said.
“At this stage we are searching the compound to make sure there are no attackers hiding inside the building,” he said, adding: “The attack did not cause any casualties to security forces or UN workers.”