Afghans: Marines fired without cause

Two Afghan civilians wounded by gunfire from a Marine special operations unit told an investigative panel Tuesday they had no weapons and were not attacking the unit's convoy.

The civilians testified by video link from Afghanistan before a Court of Inquiry, a rarely used administrative fact-finding panel investigating the March 4 incident along a 10-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province.

Several Marines have told the court they saw people firing at their unit after a minivan packed with explosives detonated near the second Humvee in their convoy. But the Afghan witnesses said Tuesday they didn't hear the bombing or see an explosion, which the Marines have said was first blow in a well-coordinated ambush.

Haji Liwani Qumandan, a tribal elder in Nangarhar province, said the Marines attacked without cause.

"I noticed them when they started shooting at us," said Qumandan, adding that he ducked in his seat, slid out of the driver's door and hugged the ground as bullets broke his windows. "I was also in a very, very panicked state."

Qumandan disputed earlier testimony from a Marine who said a rifle was on the ground beside his blue sport utility vehicle. He called the testimony of another Marine, who said the SUV was filled with guns and attackers, "absolutely a lie."

"No one shot at the Americans in my vehicle," he said. "Nobody was trying to kill Americans."

Qumandan and a taxi driver who uses the single name Nangyli both testified through an interpreter. Nangyli told the court he and his nephew were driving six people to the Pakistan border when troops waved at his red van to stop.

"Maybe 30 seconds later, they just started shooting," he said. "They were shooting and driving at the same time."

Nangyli said he was hit in the leg, while his nephew was hit in the neck. Qumandan said his father and 12-year-old nephew were killed, while he was wounded in the back.

An Army investigation concluded last year that up to 19 civilians died in the shootings, but attorneys for two Marine officers involved argue the death toll was lower. Citing witness accounts, Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission concluded that the Marines fired indiscriminately.

The Court of Inquiry is focusing on two officers involved in the shootings: the special operations unit's commander, 38-year-old Maj. Fred C. Galvin of the Kansas City area, and a platoon leader, Capt. Vincent J. Noble, 29, of Philadelphia. The court could recommend that charges be filed.