Reuters….
A warehouse run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was destroyed on Tuesday in an American air raid on the Afghan capital Kabul, injuring an Afghan staff member, an ICRC official said.
"I can confirm that a warehouse was hit at 1.30pm (10.00 BST) this afternoon and one person has been injured, one of the local staff," said Robert Monin, the Head of the ICRC delegation for Afghanistan. “ There was a red cross on the roof of the building so you would think it should be clear to all concerned”.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference that US forces were involved. “ I can confirm that our forces were responsible. We are in the course of reviewing the data on the attack but the past two days' attacks have been especially intense, putting more than 100 warplanes and five cruise missiles into the air, he said. However, whilst there may always be a degree of collateral damage, I believe the red cross on the roof could have been bigger and the ICRC should realize that crosses have long been used to designate stuff, like treasure on maps. “
He refused to comment on rumours that pilots had thought that certain Taliban safe houses had been designated with a large red cross on the roof by undercover US special forces. He added,“ Ground forces are likely to play a key role in illuminating targets for air attack. If they have been using red crosses we will suggest they use a different colour." A Taliban Official was concerned. “ We lost some food supplies but suffered no casualities. But a number of the holy warriors had painted red crosses on roofs of their houses believing that it would be of protection from the bombing but they are now most concerned at this latest attack."
ISP