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| US military criticised for secrecy over death of Afghan BBC correspondent | US military criticised for secrecy over death of Afghan BBC correspondent |
| (8 days later) | |
| US military secrecy over the death of a BBC correspondent shot dead by US forces during a Taliban attack caused needless distress to his family and sparked fears of a cover-up, a report into the shooting has said. | US military secrecy over the death of a BBC correspondent shot dead by US forces during a Taliban attack caused needless distress to his family and sparked fears of a cover-up, a report into the shooting has said. |
| Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, 25, an Afghan national who worked as a BBC stringer in southern Uruzgan province, died when the local radio and television offices where he worked were attacked last July. | Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, 25, an Afghan national who worked as a BBC stringer in southern Uruzgan province, died when the local radio and television offices where he worked were attacked last July. |
| Khpulwak was shot dead by US soldiers who mistook him for an insurgent when they spotted him hiding in the bathroom of the building, which had been half-destroyed by suicide bombers. | Khpulwak was shot dead by US soldiers who mistook him for an insurgent when they spotted him hiding in the bathroom of the building, which had been half-destroyed by suicide bombers. |
| Both the Afghan government and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) initially said Khpulwak had been killed by the Taliban, despite the questions of family members who retrieved his body. | Both the Afghan government and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) initially said Khpulwak had been killed by the Taliban, despite the questions of family members who retrieved his body. |
| "Those who saw Omed's body and the place of his death and heard police saying that foreign forces had stormed RTA [Radio Television Afghanistan] understood there was something wrong with the official account," the report from the Afghanistan Analysts Network said. | "Those who saw Omed's body and the place of his death and heard police saying that foreign forces had stormed RTA [Radio Television Afghanistan] understood there was something wrong with the official account," the report from the Afghanistan Analysts Network said. |
| But when his family spoke out about suspicions that he had been killed by a foreign soldier instead – based on the state of his body and the bullet casings around it – they received death threats in anonymous phone calls, probably from people linked to a local strongman, according to the report. | But when his family spoke out about suspicions that he had been killed by a foreign soldier instead – based on the state of his body and the bullet casings around it – they received death threats in anonymous phone calls, probably from people linked to a local strongman, according to the report. |
| "Isaf's failure to talk frankly with the media and Afghan population caused needless distress to Omed's family and friends and helped spark suspicions of a cover-up," said the report's author, Kate Clark. | "Isaf's failure to talk frankly with the media and Afghan population caused needless distress to Omed's family and friends and helped spark suspicions of a cover-up," said the report's author, Kate Clark. |
| The truth about Khpulwak's death emerged weeks later, when the results of a US investigation were published. A redacted version of the full conclusions was released only after a freedom of information request. | The truth about Khpulwak's death emerged weeks later, when the results of a US investigation were published. A redacted version of the full conclusions was released only after a freedom of information request. |
| Clark's report questions whether US troops did enough to meet their legal obligation to check there were no civilians in the offices, although it acknowledges that the soldier who shot him dead did so "with a reasonable belief that Omed was a possible suicide bomber". | Clark's report questions whether US troops did enough to meet their legal obligation to check there were no civilians in the offices, although it acknowledges that the soldier who shot him dead did so "with a reasonable belief that Omed was a possible suicide bomber". |
| US troops were told by a local security battalion that there were no civilians in the building, but did not seem to have made further checks, the report said. At least one fellow journalist who reached Khpulwak by phone and tried to get to the offices was turned back by Afghan and Nato forces. | US troops were told by a local security battalion that there were no civilians in the building, but did not seem to have made further checks, the report said. At least one fellow journalist who reached Khpulwak by phone and tried to get to the offices was turned back by Afghan and Nato forces. |
| The top Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, endorsed investigators' recommendations, including those "that address the need to establish whether civilians are present at the scene of any potential engagement", a conclusion Clark said showed the importance of transparency when operations do go wrong. | The top Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, endorsed investigators' recommendations, including those "that address the need to establish whether civilians are present at the scene of any potential engagement", a conclusion Clark said showed the importance of transparency when operations do go wrong. |
| "The release of the military investigation has shown how an honest explanation of events can be a positive contribution both to accountability for civilian deaths and to improving the protection of civilians," the report said. | "The release of the military investigation has shown how an honest explanation of events can be a positive contribution both to accountability for civilian deaths and to improving the protection of civilians," the report said. |
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