Afghan night raid survivors, in their own words
KABUL (Reuters) - The growing use of "night raids" by NATO-led and Afghan forces to kill or capture insurgents is one of the most controversial strategies in the Afghan war. Here are some accounts by Afghan civilians of night raids they experienced, which left them injured or bereaved.
HAMIDULLAH, Jalalabad city, aged 13. Hamidullah says he was bitten by a dog during a night raid on his house, and lifts up the leg of his trousers to show big scars around his that appear to be bite marks. ISAF declined immediate comment on photos of the scars.
"I was asleep, I woke up from a dream, and when I went to the door the dog bit me. It was one or two o'clock in the morning, about two years ago. I was 11 at the time, now I'm 13 years old." "I got no medical help for the wound, except the U.S. soldiers bandaged it up with gauze before they left. I got no compensation either, but it doesn't hurt now, it is not painful." "Our windows are still damaged because on the day they came they blasted the door out with a bomb. There were 4 or 5 other small children in the house at the time, and some women in a side room, but there were no others hurt, just me." "Seven people were arrested that night, they were released after six days, except one who was released after four months. First they went to Jalalabad airbase, then three were taken to Bagram. They were mostly Americans, with two translators."