Names of Boys in US March 1 Raid

The boy injured in the raid.  Photo courtesy of RAWA News.

KABUL - The names of nine boys killed by US coalition troops in Afghanistan were released yesterday, March 6, 2011.  The names and ages of the boys are:

 13-year-old Khalid son of Bismillah
 10-year-old Abid son of Bismillah
 10-year-old Khalid son of Ahmad Khan
 12-year-old Zialrahman son of Nisbah
 11-year-old Jawad son of Sabhanullah
 11-year-old Ihsanullah son of Sabhanullah
 7-year-old Shahidullah son of Rahman
 11-year-old Jawed son of Wali Mohammad
 10-year-old Umra Khan son of Safiullah

No other information about the boys or their families is available at this time. A tenth child, 10-year-old Umad son of Shir Mohammad, is listed as injured.  His condition is not known.

Troops in attack helicopters that belong to the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan killed the boys Tuesday, March 1, with machine-gun and rocket fire.  The boys were collecting firewood in the Pech Valley in Kunar Province at 11:30 a.m. local time Tuesday when they were targeted.

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, who heads the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan,  has said the killings were an error and that the boys were mistaken for Taliban insurgents.