KABUL – An Afghan presidential commission says 30 civilians and 69 armed Taliban militants died in a German-ordered U.S. airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers earlier this month, confirming earlier reports.
The panel says NATO erred in the Sept. 4 bombing of the tankers. The commission on Thursday also blamed the Taliban for putting civilians at risk, calling it "an inhuman act."
Because he feared the hijacked trucks would be used to carry out suicide bombings, the German commander of NATO forces in Kunduz ordered American jets to bomb the vehicles. But civilians had swarmed the tankers, trying to siphon fuel.
The commission said nine civilians and 11 Taliban were wounded. The civilian death toll was first reported on Sept. 13 by Germany's ARD television.
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