Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

'Total Massacre' as U.S. Drone Strike Kills 30 Farmers in Afghanistan

Amnesty International said the bombing "suggests a shocking disregard for civilian life."

by

Eoin Higgins, staff writer

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An MQ-9 Reaper drone flies a combat mission. (Photo: Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt/U.S. Air Force)

A U.S. drone attack killed 30 pine nut farmers and wounded at least 40 others in Afghanistan Wednesday night, the latest killing of innocent civilians by American forces as the "war on terror" enters its 19th year. 

"Some of us managed to escape, some were injured, but many were killed."
—Juma Gul, farm worker

The farmers had just finished work and were sitting by a fire when the strike happened, according to tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul.

"Some of us managed to escape, some were injured, but many were killed," said farm laborer Juma Gul.

Retuers reported that there may be more farmers missing:

Haidar Khan, who owns the pine nut fields, said about 150 workers were there for harvesting, with some still missing as well as the confirmed dead and injured.

A survivor of the drone strike said about 200 laborers were sleeping in five tents pitched near the farm when the attack happened.

In a statement, Colonel Sonny Leggett, the spokesman for the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, said the attack was aimed at "Da’esh (IS) terrorists in Nangarhar" province. 

"We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts," said Leggett. 

However, Leggett said, the blame for the massacre is squarely on IS and the Taliban—not U.S. forces. 

"We are fighting in a complex environment against those who intentionally kill and hide behind civilians, as well as use dishonest claims of noncombatant casualties as propaganda weapons," Leggett said. 

Human rights group Amnesty International, in a statement, said that the strike was "unacceptable and suggests a shocking disregard for civilian life." 

Ralph Cinque: Trump was on the verge of signing a peace agreement with the Taliban- at Camp David, no less. But then, when news got out that they had killed another American soldier in Afghanistan, he called it off. And now, we're back to slaughtering innocents, with 30 Afghan farmers being killed. It goes to what I say in my movie, that war is just high-tech/industrial strength terrorism.