A man walks by U.S. drone graffiti painted on a wall during a campaign against drones in Yemen on May 31, 2018 in Sana'a, Yemen. (Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
Sep 20, 2019
Afghan officials knew for over a week that civilians were in the area bombed by a U.S. drone strike on Wednesday, raising more questions about the attack that killed 30 farmers and wounded 40 more.
"My son and his friends were killed by the Americans," village chief Malak Khaiyali Khan toldReuters. "How could they do this to us?"
On Thursday, Common Dreams reported on the strike, which was decribed as a "total massacre" by journalist Emran Feroz.
According to Reuters, village elders from the Wazir Tangi area of Nangarhar province on September 7 sent a letter to the region's governor alerting him to the fact they planned to have as many as 200 laborers picking pine nuts.
The letter, seen by Reuters and dated Sept. 7, was sent in an effort to help protect laborers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters in the mountainous terrain largely controlled by the jihadists.
Twelve days later, a drone strike hit a camp of workers.
"We had huddled together around small bonfires and we were discussing the security situation in our villages, but suddenly everything changed," said survivor Akram Sultan. "There was destruction everywhere."
\u201cLetter detailing civilian presence failed to prevent deadly Afghan drone strike https://t.co/ij0IMPI5Um\u201d— Reuters (@Reuters) 1568959638
As fallout from the attack continued to reverberate around the eastern province, U.S. politicians and progressives condemned the strike.
"This is just one of the horrors of endless war," tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a candidate for the Democratic party's 2020 presidential nomination.
Attacks like the drone strike lead to more extreme radicalization and opportunities for groups like ISIS and the Taliban to recruit angry victims of U.S. aggression, saidYoung Turks commentator Hasan Piker.
"We are destroying these countries," Piker said, "and the only people with the infrastructure to fight back are extremist groups who take advantage of the destabilization."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Afghan officials knew for over a week that civilians were in the area bombed by a U.S. drone strike on Wednesday, raising more questions about the attack that killed 30 farmers and wounded 40 more.
"My son and his friends were killed by the Americans," village chief Malak Khaiyali Khan toldReuters. "How could they do this to us?"
On Thursday, Common Dreams reported on the strike, which was decribed as a "total massacre" by journalist Emran Feroz.
According to Reuters, village elders from the Wazir Tangi area of Nangarhar province on September 7 sent a letter to the region's governor alerting him to the fact they planned to have as many as 200 laborers picking pine nuts.
The letter, seen by Reuters and dated Sept. 7, was sent in an effort to help protect laborers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters in the mountainous terrain largely controlled by the jihadists.
Twelve days later, a drone strike hit a camp of workers.
"We had huddled together around small bonfires and we were discussing the security situation in our villages, but suddenly everything changed," said survivor Akram Sultan. "There was destruction everywhere."
\u201cLetter detailing civilian presence failed to prevent deadly Afghan drone strike https://t.co/ij0IMPI5Um\u201d— Reuters (@Reuters) 1568959638
As fallout from the attack continued to reverberate around the eastern province, U.S. politicians and progressives condemned the strike.
"This is just one of the horrors of endless war," tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a candidate for the Democratic party's 2020 presidential nomination.
Attacks like the drone strike lead to more extreme radicalization and opportunities for groups like ISIS and the Taliban to recruit angry victims of U.S. aggression, saidYoung Turks commentator Hasan Piker.
"We are destroying these countries," Piker said, "and the only people with the infrastructure to fight back are extremist groups who take advantage of the destabilization."
Afghan officials knew for over a week that civilians were in the area bombed by a U.S. drone strike on Wednesday, raising more questions about the attack that killed 30 farmers and wounded 40 more.
"My son and his friends were killed by the Americans," village chief Malak Khaiyali Khan toldReuters. "How could they do this to us?"
On Thursday, Common Dreams reported on the strike, which was decribed as a "total massacre" by journalist Emran Feroz.
According to Reuters, village elders from the Wazir Tangi area of Nangarhar province on September 7 sent a letter to the region's governor alerting him to the fact they planned to have as many as 200 laborers picking pine nuts.
The letter, seen by Reuters and dated Sept. 7, was sent in an effort to help protect laborers from getting caught in clashes between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and Islamic State fighters in the mountainous terrain largely controlled by the jihadists.
Twelve days later, a drone strike hit a camp of workers.
"We had huddled together around small bonfires and we were discussing the security situation in our villages, but suddenly everything changed," said survivor Akram Sultan. "There was destruction everywhere."
\u201cLetter detailing civilian presence failed to prevent deadly Afghan drone strike https://t.co/ij0IMPI5Um\u201d— Reuters (@Reuters) 1568959638
As fallout from the attack continued to reverberate around the eastern province, U.S. politicians and progressives condemned the strike.
"This is just one of the horrors of endless war," tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a candidate for the Democratic party's 2020 presidential nomination.
Attacks like the drone strike lead to more extreme radicalization and opportunities for groups like ISIS and the Taliban to recruit angry victims of U.S. aggression, saidYoung Turks commentator Hasan Piker.
"We are destroying these countries," Piker said, "and the only people with the infrastructure to fight back are extremist groups who take advantage of the destabilization."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.