Night raid on Narang

Night raid on Narang
People of Narang district mourning for the students killed in the raid
Date December 27, 2009 Location Ghazi Khan Ghondi village, Narang District, Kunar province, Afghanistan Result Death of 10 local civilians.

The night raid on Narang was a night raid on a household in the village of Ghazi Khan in the early morning hours of December 27, 2009. The operation was authorized by NATO and resulted in the death of ten Afghan civilians, most of whom were students, and some of whom were children.^[1][2][3] The status of the deceased was initially in dispute with NATO officials claiming the dead were Taliban members found with weapons and bomb making materials, while some Afghan government officials and local tribal authorities asserted they were civilians.^[4]

According to an Afghan initial investigation led by Mr. Assadullah Wafa, the raiding party took off by helicopter from Kabul. The raiding party allegedly dragged the victims out of their beds and shot them in the head or chest. A survivor was subsequently interrogated and pictures were taken of the dead bodies. Investigations later determined that most of the victims were aged between 12 and 18 years and were enrolled in local schools.^[3][5][6]

The Afghan government claimed U.S. Forces were involved, while statements by NATO asserted U.S. and NATO forces did not participate in the shootings.^[7] Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said Afghan troops had not taken part in the operation.^[8] Who exactly carried out the raid and shot the victims remains unclear.^[3] In 2015 it became known that as part of the US covert Omega Program SEAL Team Six members in conjunction with C.I.A. paramilitary officers and Afghan troops trained by the C.I.A. carried out the assault.^[9]