KABUL – The NATO-led force in Afghanistan disputed on Monday an Afghan government accusation that foreign troops had violated a security deal by conducting a night raid in Kabul in which two guards were killed.
Under the 2008 deal, Afghan authorities have to approve and lead all security operations in the capital. But the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has said that foreign forces ignored the security rules and it was unaware of Friday’s operation.
Raids by foreign forces, deeply unpopular among ordinary Afghans, are a source of friction between the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government. The incident is the latest to strain ties, with civilian casualties and accusations that Karzai’s government is corrupt adding to tension at a time when the West is assessing its long-term involvement in Afghanistan.
Karzai and his National Security Council met the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, on Sunday and discussed the raid, Karzai’s spokesman, Waheed Omer, said. “This was an irresponsible way of dealing with an issue within Kabul city and that was clearly conveyed,” Omer told a news conference, adding that the security council also said the operation had been “unnecessary”.
Brigadier General Josef Blotz, a spokesman for ISAF, said ISAF troops had coordinated the raid with Afghan security forces.
“ISAF coordinated with Afghan security forces to move on an area of interest, so we followed the usual procedures and the operation was partnered,” Blotz told a news conference on Monday.
ISAF said on Friday the raid in downtown Kabul followed a “credible threat” to attack the US Embassy in Kabul.
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security also said last week it had separately detained three people who it said had been instructed by the Pakistani Taliban to attack the presidential palace and US embassy in Kabul.
But Afghan officials said the ISAF operation in Kabul had incorrectly targeted the compound.
