Matthew Moore
London Telegraph
Saturday, December 9, 2006

Allegations that British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of civilians in Afghanistan as they fled a suicide attack earlier this month are being investigated by Nato, it emerged today.

At least one person was killed and six wounded by gunfire in the incident on Dec 3, according to doctors.

Locals claim that the British convoy shot blindly into a crowd as it sped away following a suicide car bomb attack in the southern Afghan city Kandahar. The bombing injured three Royal Marines.

advertisementA British Army spokesman confirmed earlier this week that the soldiers had opened fire in the minutes after the attack, saying they were countering what they perceived to be other potential suicide car bombs.

Captain Andrew Salloum, a spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), announced today that an inquiry had been opened.

He insisted that it was standard procedure to hold an investigation when "a situation like that occurs and civilians are killed and there are allegations of ISAF wrongdoing."

Meanwhile, five members of the same family were killed by Taliban militants overnight in the latest attack targeting teachers and lecturers.

Two sisters - both teachers - had been warned by the Taliban to give up their work or face execution. They were killed along with their grandmother, mother and 20-year-old brother, as they slept in their home in the eastern province of Kunar.

Militants broke into the property using a ladder they had brought with them to scale the high outer walls, according to another family member.

The Taliban, which banned girls from going to school during its rule, opposes non-religious teaching, and education for women.