July 27, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 23, 1429

KABUL, July 26: Nato-led soldiers killed four civilians on Saturday after opening fire on a car that did not stop at a checkpoint in volatile southern Afghanistan, the alliance’s force said.

Another three civilians were wounded in the shooting in the Sangin district of Helmand province, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said in a statement.

“Isaf soldiers opened fire on a vehicle that failed to stop at a checkpoint earlier today, killing four civilian occupants and wounding three others,” it said.

There have been several such incidents in recent years.

Meanwhile, Nato countries have agreed to send more troops to the southern parts of Afghanistan, Canada’s foreign minister said on Saturday, adding that another 200 Canadian troops could also be deployed.

Canada has already 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in the province of Kandahar where they have suffered one of the worst casualty rates fighting a resilient Taliban resistance.

“We’ve been talking with our Nato allies and in fact we do now have commitments to increase the number of troops, particularly in the Kandahar region,” Canadian Foreign Minister David Emerson, who is on his first trip to Afghanistan since taking office in May, told reporters in Kabul.

“We’re really more comforted that the troop support is being increased in an appropriate way,” he said.

Canadian soldiers first came to Afghanistan in late 2001 as part of a US-led Afghan mission to overthrow the Taliban government. In 2006, Canadian troops took over operations in Kandahar, the Taliban’s former de facto capital.

Faced with some of the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan, Canada has criticised other countries for refusing to send troops to the south, where the Taliban resistance is strongest.

Asked if Canada was going to increase its own contingent in Afghanistan, Emerson said it could send some 200 soldiers.

“Canada does have 2,500 troops here in Afghanistan and that number could expand to 2,700 as more equipment arrive,” he said.

“We are really talking about a significant increase in the contribution from other countries and that contribution has been forthcoming,” he said.

Emerson said he had visited “his team” in Kandahar and Kabul to ensure they were well organised.—Agencies