"DIGGERS" FACE KILL COUNTS OVER CHILD DEATHS

September 27, 2010

Three Australian soldiers are to be charged with manslaughter after an Afghanistan firefight that left five children dead.

"The accused persons will be charged with various service offences, including manslaughter, dangerous conduct, failing to comply with a lawful general order and prejudicial conduct," said the Director of Military Prosecutions, Brigadier Lyn McDade, today.

But two of the soldiers today said they would ‘‘strenuously defend’’ themselves against the charges.

They insisted the casualties - six dead, including a suspected Taliban fighter and the five children, and two children and two adults wounded - were caused by the ‘‘insurgent who chose to repeatedly fire upon us at extreme close range from within a room he knew contained women and children’’.

‘‘This forced us to make split-second decisions, under fire, which almost certainly saved the lives of our fellow Australian and Afghan soldiers,’’ wrote "Soldier A" and "Soldier B" in a statement released with the approval of the military.

"We believe that when all the facts of this incident are made known to the public, it will be clear to everyone that we made the correct decision under truly awful circumstances."

Brigadier McDade said the charges arose from a Special Operations Taskforce night raid on a residential compound believed to harbour Taliban insurgents in Oruzgan Province in February 2009.

The Defence Department previously has said the deaths occurred as the soldiers conducted clearance operations using gunfire and hand grenades.

The three former members of the Special Operations Task Group would be charged with service offences, Brigadier McDade said.

The soldiers facing charges have not been named.

Brigadier McDade said her investigations had been completed only recently and only after ‘‘careful, deliberate and informed consideration’’.

In a statement released the day after the attack, defence said the deaths occurred as SOTG soldiers conducted clearance operations through a number of compounds.

‘‘During the conduct of this operation the soldiers were fired upon by Taliban insurgents,’’ it said.

‘‘The SOTG engaged the insurgents, returning fire in accordance with their rules of engagement.’’

AAP

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/diggers-face-kill-counts-over-child-deaths-20100927-15t99.html