Diggers cleared over Afghan killings

Australian troops acted within their rules of engagement in the shooting deaths of
two Afghans and the wounding of a third, the defence force says.
Defence chief of joint operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said internal
assessments into the incidents had now been completed but a more comprehensive
inquiry would be conducted into one to assess whether procedures needed to be
changed.
That incident occurred on August 11 when two Afghan men travelling on a motorcycle
failed to comply with multiple verbal and visual signals to stop at a vehicle
checkpoint and were shot by Australian soldiers from the Mentoring and
Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF).
One was killed and the other wounded. Both turned out to be members of the Afghan
National Police.
Lieutenant General Evans said from available information, the soldiers acted within
their Rules of Engagement.
"However, I have initiated a comprehensive inquiry to review the facts and
circumstances surrounding the incident in order to provide recommendations on
possible changes to procedures," he said in a statement.
Lieutenant General Evans said an inquiry officer had been appointed to review the
tactics, techniques and procedures for establishing vehicle checkpoints and
conducting vehicle checks to ensure these were appropriate mechanisms for
maintaining security.
"Australian operating procedures for the conduct of Vehicle Check Points are
robust," he said. "However, we constantly monitor our processes and make adjustments
where necessary."
The other incident occurred on August 3 when an Australian soldier shot and killed -
in self-defence - an Afghan man believed to be an insurgent.
The soldier, from an Operational Liaison and Mentoring Team patrol, saw an Afghan
man raising a rifle to a firing position and was able to identify the type of
weapon.
He fired a single shot, killing the man.
But by the time Australian soldiers were able to safely reach the incident site some
20 minutes later no weapon was found. Another Afghan man had been observed running
from the scene 30-40 seconds after the engagement.
Lieutenant General Evans said the internal assessment concluded that the Afghan man
posed a credible and imminent threat and that the Australian soldier acted within
the rules of engagement.