Yanks Cut Out Bullets in Afghan Shooting Coverup

US finally admits Special Forces role in killings
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 5, 2010 1:45 AM CDT
Updated Apr 5, 2010 7:53 AM CDT
Yanks Cut Out Bullets in Afghan Shooting Coverup
An Afghan woman arranges cow dung cakes to be used for fuel as she works in a field in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday.   (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

US officials are admitting troop involvement in the killing of three innocent women in a botched Afghan raid as a new report has surfaced revealing that American Special Forces soldiers cut bullets out of their bodies in an effort to hide evidence. The disclosures of the US role in the killings of people attending a baby naming party during the February raid come at a particularly sensitive time in US-Afghan relations. Officials initially insisted troops discovered the women had been fatally stabbed by unknown assailants hours before the raid.

An Afghan investigation has determined that US forces cut bullets from the women's bodies and cleaned the wounds with alcohol to hide the cause of their death, reports the Times of London. A NATO official concurred that “there was evidence of tampering” and that investigators “couldn’t find bullets" from the wounds. Referring to the deaths, NATO command spokesman said: “We deeply regret the outcome of this operation, accept responsibility for our actions, and know that this loss will be felt forever by the families." (More Kabul stories.)

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