Canadians and Dutch kill civilians

The toll rises, this time with Canadian bullets:

Canadian troops fatally shoot two teens
Gloria Galloway - Globe and Mail

KABUL, Oct 3 - Two teenage boys travelling by motorcycle through the dangerous Panjwai district southwest of Kandahar city were shot and killed Thursday by Canadian soldiers on patrol.

The boys, 14 and 16, were going from their home village of Zangabad to see a friend in the Panjwai district centre, villagers said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., they rounded the corner in the hamlet of Pay-e-Moluk and came upon the Canadian soldiers conducting a meeting, or shura, near a mosque with village elders.

The troops, who were surprised by the sudden appearance of a motorcycle heading toward them at close distance, said they shouted and used visual warnings. They also fired a warning shot... (link)

Recently, the Germans got in on the act of killing civilians in a big way. Now Dutch pilots have killed civilians:

NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands)
Civilians Killed in Dutch Air Raid

OCTOBER 2 - A Dutch F-16 fighter plane made a number of civilian casualties during an air raid in the Afghan province of Helmand on Wednesday.

The Dutch Defense Ministry said it is still unclear how many people died in the air raid, but it confirmed that a woman and several children were wounded. The French press agency AFP quoted a local authority saying nine people died, including six children.

Two Dutch F-16 fighter planes provided air support during what is referred to as "heavy fighting" between British ground troops and the Taliban in Helmand Province, the Defense Ministry said. British troops on the ground gave the planes the coordinates of a house from which they were being fired upon. One Dutch F-16 then dropped one precision bomb on the house.

"Afterwards it appeared that apart from the Taliban fighters, there were civilians in the house as well. The Taliban had hidden among the civilians," the ministry said... (link)

The Associated Press the British military's Lt-Col Nick Richardson relayed unconfirmed reports that 12 people had been killed - six children, two women and four insurgents in the incident in Helmand.

While military officials are quick to blame the Taliban for hiding among civilians, locals tend to view the occupiers and more blameworthy.