Afghanistan Girl, 9, Accidentally Killed by Canadian Troops

A nine-year-old Afghanistan girl was killed, accidentally, by Canadian troops who tried to warn off a motorcyclist who was approaching Canadian foot patrol.

According to a spokesman for Task Force Afghanistan talking to CanWest Services, an Afghanistan girl has been accidentally killed by Canadian troops. One round of ammunition went off to warn a motorcyclist who was approaching a Canadian foot patrol at high speed. Major Mario Couture said, “We believe it was a ricochet that killed the girl and that is was one of our bullets, but an investigation will determine exactly what happened.” A joint investigation will be made by Canadian and Afghanistan authorities. Major Couture further added, “It is an absolute tragedy that an innocent child was killed during a patrol. No doubt the pain of the parents must be unbearable.” After the incident, Canadian officials were in contact with the nine-year-old girl’s family. Major Couture’s final comments were, “We do not take 'escalation of force' lightly. If we take action it is because we fear danger is coming. We understand the consequences of making a mistake so we use force as a last resort.”