US Denies Its Airstrike Killed Afghan Civilians Sunday

五角大楼否认周日空袭击中阿平民

　



The Pentagon says no civilians were killed in an air strike Sunday in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan, which local officials say killed 27 people who were walking to a wedding.

　

五角大楼说，星期天对阿富汗东部一个边远地区发动的空袭中没有任何平民被打死。不过，当地官员说，空袭打死了27名正在前往参加一个婚礼的平民。

U.S. military officials in Kabul say they believe the air strike hit its intended target, a group of militants. Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed that view.

　

在喀布尔的美国军方官员说，他们相信空袭击中了一夥激进分子，这是预定的目标。五角大楼发言人布赖恩.惠特曼证实了这种看法。

"I can only tell you I talked to Afghanistan this morning, and they are very clear with that particular strike that they believe they struck the intended target and that there were not innocent civilians involved in that particular strike," said Whitman.

　

他说：“我能告诉你的就是，我今天上午同阿富汗方面进行了沟通，他们对那次空袭非常清楚。他们相信他们击中了预定的目标。在那次特定的袭击中，没有涉及到无辜的平民。”

The reports of civilian casualties came from Afghan officials, who said they spoke to people in the remote area by telephone. The U.S. military says Taliban militants often pressure villagers into claiming civilian casualties after air strikes.

　

有关平民伤亡的报导来自阿富汗官员。他们说，他们给这个边远地区的居民打过电话。美国军方说，塔利班激进分子经常在空袭过后给村民们施加压力，让他们宣称有多少平民死伤。

The NATO command in Kabul is investigating the incident, along with another on Friday, also in eastern Afghanistan, in which the Nuristan provincial governor says 22 civilians were killed.

　

在喀布尔的北约司令部正在对这起事件进行调查，同时也在调查星期五也是在东部发生的另外一起事件。努里斯坦省长声称，在星期五的事件中，有22名平民被打死。

Meanwhile, a suicide bombing in Kabul killed at least 40 civilians Monday on a road in front of the Indian Embassy, just across the road from the Interior Ministry.

　

另一方面，喀布尔星期一在内政部对面的印度大使馆前的一条路上发生一起自杀式炸弹爆炸，至少40名平民被炸死。

A U.S. embassy spokesman says such attacks demonstrate that the insurgents do not care about civilian casualties. And the Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, says the bombing also illustrates the difficulty of preventing such attacks, even in a secured area.

　

美国大使馆发言人说，类似的袭击表明，反叛份子根本不在乎平民伤亡。五角大楼发言人惠特曼说，爆炸也说明防范类似的袭击有多么困难，即使在安全地区。

"Well, I think it says more about suicide bombers and people that are intent on killing themselves and innocent people," he said. "It is always hard to protect against those type of attacks."

　

他说：“我认为，这更暴露出自杀式炸弹手以及那些决心要杀死他们自己和无辜群众的人的本性。要防范那种袭击总是很难的。”

The bombing was one of the most deadly in Kabul since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

　

自从2001年美国领导的盟军入侵阿富汗以来，这是喀布尔发生的最致命的爆炸事件之一。