If anyone has any information on this one, I am all ears. It sounds like to me that they were unfortunately in a part of town that is not too friendly towards contractors or foreigners. Or worse yet, the crowd was fed by some instigators who took it upon themselves to twist the story around and try to create a riot.
All I know is that some Afghanis are dead from a horrible crash, and some DynCorp contractors are wounded because of a hostile crowd. If they were attacked by the crowd, then they showed some serious discipline to ‘not’ fire their weapons in self defense. I mean this could have ended up like another Blackwater Bridge scenario, the way it sounds. Who knows, and as more information comes out, I will make the edit. –Matt
Edit: July 31, 2010 – A big thanks to Ashley Burke from DynCorp, who sent me this update and statement from the company. The thing I keep looking at here, is how quickly the crowd formed and attacked this crew. There must have been instigators in the crowd. And it sounds like the Afghans who pulled out in front of the DynCorp convoy are at fault here. But yet the crowd could care less. Here is the statement:
I saw your recent posting and wanted to make sure you had the full DI statement on this incident.
On July 30, 2010, DynCorp International (DI) personnel were involved in a car accident in Kabul when an Afghan vehicle unexpectedly pulled in front of them on a road to the airport. Several Afghan civilians were killed in the tragic accident.
When the DI personnel exited their vehicle to assess the situation and assist, a crowd quickly formed, the DI team was attacked, and their vehicle was set on fire. A second DI team arrived on the scene to assist, that DI team was also attacked by the crowd, and their vehicle was set on fire. Local police arrived quickly. DI personnel took no action against the crowd and did not fire any shots, deferring to the local police who took action to disperse the crowd and remove the DI team to safety.
Any accident involving a loss of life is tragic. Our condolences go out to the families of those who were killed or injured in the accident. An investigation into the accident is underway and, until that investigation is complete, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
The employees involved in the accident are working under a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
From Ashley Burke
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Fatal Crash Stokes Afghan-U.S. Tension in Kabul
July 30, 2010
Auto Accident Involving American Contractors Leaves 4 Locals Dead; Mob Hurls Stones, Sets Fire to Vehicles
A fatal traffic accident involving private U.S. security contractors sparked an angry demonstration in Kabul Friday, with enraged Afghans hurling stones, setting fire to two vehicles and shouting “death to America” before police fired guns into the air to disperse the crowd.
Four Afghans were killed in the accident on the main airport road, according to Kabul’s criminal investigations chief, Abdul Ghaafar Sayedzada.
U.S. embassy spokesperson Caitlin Hayden confirmed to CBS News that the SUV involved was carrying four contractors from DynCorp, a private security firm affiliated with the embassy. Afghan police officials said the Americans were traveling in a two-vehicle convoy.
There were conflicting accounts of the accident and its aftermath. Local witnesses told CBS News that the Americans were driving the wrong way down the road, though DynCorp said that version of events was “not correct.”
Witnesses also said only three locals were killed in the crash, with the fourth dying after the U.S. contractors opened fire into the crowd.
(more…)
