U.S. still probing Afghan wedding incident (sound familiar????)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pentagon officials said Monday they were unsure whether the crew of a U.S. gunship fired in response to an attack during the July 1 incident in which Afghans say 48 people were killed at a wedding party.

Officials told CNN it was not clear whether the AC-130 was coming under anti-aircraft artillery fire, or whether the crew launched fire because a ground controller directed them to targets previously earmarked.

Pentagon sources said they could confirm that a ground controller saw anti-aircraft artillery fire in the region.

The AC-130 was called in to return fire. But they could not confirm the time elapsed between the two events. It also is not known whether the imagery from the AC-130 shows any indication of anti-aircraft artillery.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told reporters Monday during a trip to the region that it was clear there were enemy forces in the region at the time of the attack. He also expressed regrets that innocent people were killed.

Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on July 2 the AC-130 "had been responding also to a forward air controller on the ground who had been directing fires against anti-aircraft weapons that had been firing up at the AC-130."



http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/07/15/pentagon.wedding.attack/