QALAYE NIAZI, Afghanistan)/KABUL (Islamweb & News Agencies) - U.S. warplanes killed over 100 people in a weekend raid in eastern Afghanistan, villagers said Monday as Afghan and British officials initialed a deal on an international security force.
Witnesses said at least one U.S. fighter jet, a B-52 bomber and two helicopters had swooped early Sunday morning on the village of Qalaye Niazi, about 2.5 miles north of the city of Gardez, capital of Paktia province.
U.S. forces have been carrying out operations in the region against remnants of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and Taliban fighters still on the run.
``There are no al Qaeda or Taliban people here,'' insisted villager Janat Gul, referring to the group Washington blames for the September 11 attacks on the United States and the former rulers of Afghanistan which gave it shelter.
The raid seemed sure to stir up tensions between those factions in Kabul's U.N.-backed interim administration that want the U.S. bombing campaign to halt and those who believe the raids -- under way since October 7 -- should continue.
The Defense Ministry, headed by General Mohammad Fahim, says the bombing should end as soon as possible while Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said Sunday the campaign would continue ``for as long as it takes to finish the terrorists.''
There are also tensions within the administration, headed by Hamid Karzai, over the role of foreign forces on Afghan soil.
But an advance column of about 50 British troops drove into Kabul Monday to take up peacekeeping duties, the vanguard of an international force agreed with the new government.