Afghan civilian deaths 'inflated'

The Afghan government and Nato have said publicly that figures for civilian casualties after military action are often exaggerated or fabricated.
Lt-Col Maria Carl gave a press conference alongside the Afghan defence ministry spokesman, Gen Zahir Azimi. Lt-Col Carl said accounts of civilian casualties after military engagements often turned out to be inflated or completely fabricated. She gave recent examples, including village elders' accounts of more than 100 civilian deaths in western Afghanistan a few days ago. Lt-Col Carl said it was now clear that no civilians had died there, saying that in fact foreign and Afghan forces had moved villagers to safety. Gen Azimi from the defence ministry said the Taleban regularly forced villagers to phone media outlets with inflated figures, threatening to behead them if they did not do so. More...