Troops fire on Afghan driver outside U.S. base
KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. troops shot and wounded a civilian driver Wednesday night outside Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, after the driver ignored the forces' signals to stop his vehicle.
Bagram police chief Gen. Zaman Mamuzay told CBS News' Ahmad Mukhtar that the U.S. troops were on regular patrol outside the base, which is located next to the ancient town of Bagram, in Parwan province west of Kabul, when the incident occurred. He said the driver was taken inside the sprawling compound for medical treatment.
Mamuzay said a number of residents gathered outside the U.S. base on Thursday morning, demanding the driver's release and urging the Afghan government to ban foreign forces from patrolling outside their bases. The demonstration ended quickly.
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Waheed Sediqi, a spokesman for the Parwan provincial government, said the driver was under investigation by the U.S. military and it was expected that he would be freed after his wounds were treated and the investigation was complete.
The U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan, known as Resoulte Support, confirmed most of the details of the incident as provided by Mamuzay in a statement, but did not mention the severity of the driver's injuries or any ongoing investigation.
"Security forces followed escalation of force procedures as required to prevent the vehicle from striking the patrol," U.S. Air Force Capt. Susan Harrington said in the statement.
American forces' freedom to operate inside Afghanistan has been a major point of contention with both the public and the government of the nation for years.
With U.S. troops' combat mission now over, they are generally confined to bases, but still play a large role in training their Afghan counterparts, and can be called upon for help when needed.
Tension between the U.S. and Afghan governments over the freedom American and allied forces have in the country have eased greatly with the arrival of a new president in Kabul, but there is still underlying mistrust within the population.