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Reasons why bombs hit civilians Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://mirror.icnetwork.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11392677&method=fullhttp://mirror.icnetwork.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11392677&method=full
29 October 2001
REASONS WHY US BOMBS HIT CIVILIANS
EXCLUSIVE: Experts tell why bombs kill innocents
By Tom Newton Dunn
EXPERTS yesterday listed three reasons why bombs and missiles are killing innocent civilians.
Technical problems, human error and targeted Taliban and al-Qaeda forces deliberately hiding in civilian areas all contribute to the toll.
All three are regarded as unsolvable problems.
Major Charles Heyman, editor of Jane's World Armies, said: "Out of 100 raids, four or five will go wrong. It is inevitable because of the equipment used and the people using it."
1 - TECHNICAL FLAWS: Smart bombs are filled with computer chips that guide them to a target. Just like home computers they crash, but with fatal results.
2 - PILOT ERROR: Under pressure, pilots can make simple mistakes like misreading maps, identifying the wrong target or misdialling a bomb's guidance system.
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3 - HUMAN SHIELDS: Taliban and al-Qaeda forces have gone to Northern Alliance villages to make radio or satellite phone calls, believing the coalition would not dare to bomb. But AWAC planes circling above send the co-ordinates to war planes, sparking bombing raids.
Major Heyman predicted that more innocent Afghan civilians would be killed in US air raids this week - and President Bush and Tony Blair know it.
Military commanders would have warned political leaders of the risks of human casualties before the air strikes began.
Major Heyman said: "Politicians would have had to have sanctioned it."
The Department of Defense said 92 Tomahawk cruise missiles had been fired and more than 4,000 bombs dropped.
Until this weekend's strikes added to the death toll, there had been six confirmed mis-hits. More have been claimed by the Taliban but have not been confirmed by independent sources.
OCTOBER 9: Four Afghan employees of a UN mine-clearing agency were killed when a US missile hit their office in north Kabul.
OCTOBER 16: A Red Cross warehouse was destroyed in a Taliban compound in Kabul. One person was injured.
OCTOBER 20: Two 500lb bombs fell on residential areas in north west Kabul, killing dozens. The pilot was trying to hit military vehicles half a mile away.
OCTOBER 22: An F18 dropped a 1,000lb bomb on a residential area of Kabul hitting an old people's home and allegedly killing 20 civilians.
OCTOBER 23: Bombs were dropped on the remote village of Shaker Qala, 500 yards from the target of a military base, near Herat.
OCTOBER 26: The Red Cross compound in Kabul was hit again, when eight tons of bombs set fire to three of the four buildings still standing after the first attack.
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