Canadian to head Afghan air strike probe

A Canadian general will lead the investigation into a recent air strike in northern Afghanistan that officials said killed at least 70 people.

Maj.-Gen. C.S. (Duff) Sullivan will look into the Sept. 4 incident, when NATO jets launched an air strike on two fuel tankers that Taliban militants hijacked near Omar Khel in Kunduz province.

A German officer with the International Security Assistance Force ordered the attack, and the German government originally insisted that only the Taliban hijackers had died.

An Afghan rights group, however, estimates as many as 70 civilians died as they were siphoning gas from the tankers, which became stuck on a sand spit in the Kunduz River.

A subsequent ISAF review also found evidence that civilians were killed and injured.

Don't rush to judge, says Germany's Merkel

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the world should reserve judgment on whether civilians were killed in the attack.

"There are contradictory reports about the consequences, particularly about civilian victims; it will not be possible for us to clear that up precisely here this morning," Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament.

However Merkel pledged full support for the investigation and expressed regrets if civilians were harmed because of German actions.

"Every innocent person who dies in Afghanistan is one too many — we mourn every single one," Merkel told lawmakers.

Investigation to take weeks

Sullivan, who serves as the air component element director and the deputy of joint operations for ISAF, will lead a board that will also include a U.S. Air Force officer, a German officer and a legal adviser. The board will co-ordinate its investigation with a team from Afghanistan.

The board is expected to take several weeks to complete its work, with results being shared with Afghanistan and German authorities.

Sullivan has previous experience as an investigator. In 2006, he served as co-president of a board looking into an A-10 friendly fire incident during operations near Kandahar that claimed the life of a Canadian soldier.

Pte. Mark Anthony Graham died and several other Canadian soldiers serving with Charles Company group, Royal Canadian Regiment, were injured after a U.S. plane opened fire on Canadian troops on Sept. 4, 2006.