Civilians continue to die

Two dead in Ghazni:

Afghan villagers say two civilians killed

KABUL, Feb 1 (AFP) – Afghan villagers said Sunday that two civilians were killed by US soldiers hunting down insurgents...

About 30 villagers gathered in the centre of the eastern town of Ghazni with the bodies of two men they said were killed in a raid by US soldiers on Saturday [Jan 31], an AFP reporter said.

One of the protestors, Abdul Latif, said the soldiers "came into the village and broke into a house and killed two brothers. Both were civilian."

Several people were hurt, including a woman who was bitten by a dog unleashed by the soldiers, he said... (link)

Four dead reported in Arghandab:

Bomb network busted in Afghanistan: US coalition

KABUL, Jan 30 (AFP) - The US-led coalition said Friday its troops killed four militants in an operation against a Taliban bombmaker in southern Afghanistan, but local residents said the dead were civilians.

Soldiers in the southern province of Kandahar on Thursday [Jan 29] went to a compound to find a Taliban suspect "known" to have planted bombs against troops and police but militants barricaded themselves inside, said the military.

"Coalition forces precisely engaged the barricaded militants after they refused to surrender, while safeguarding the women and children," said the US-led coalition in a statement.

Eight men who surrendered were arrested, it added.

But locals in Arghandab district gave a different account.

"One father, two sons and a guest were killed in the foreign forces' raid," resident Abdul Nabi told AFP.

Police stopped locals from taking the bodies to Kandahar city to protest against the killings, locals said... (link)

January's toll:

January 5: British forces in Helmand province kill between five and 19 civilians.
January 6: A US-led assault kills between 17 and 23 civilians in Laghman province.
January 7: NATO shells kill eleven civilians in Uruzgan.
January 20: Coalition forces kill 25 civilians in Kapisa province, say locals.
January 21: NATO troops in Sangin district of Helmand kill one civilian while under fire.
January 22: NATO-led soldier kills civilian mistaken for a bomb planter in Gereshk district of Helmand.
January 23: In Obama's first military action, up to 22 Pakistani civilians are killed by US drone-launched missiles.
January 24: US troops with air support kill 16 civilians in Laghman, say officials.
January 29: Locals say US-led coalition troops kill four civilians in Arghandab district of Kandahar while the force claims the dead were insurgents.
January 31: Soldiers in a NATO convoy fire on a vehicle and kill one tribal elder in Paktika.
January 31: NATO-led troops kill two children in Helmand when they return fire on insurgents.
January 31: US soldiers kill two civilians in a house raid in Ghazni.