Heavy toll in Afghanistan
An Afghan police checkpoint on Highway 517, which leads to Bala Baluk district and the village of Garani, where provincial officials say 140 civilians were killed in U.S. airstrikes during clashes with militants on May 4. The U.S. military disputes the numbers and blames the Taliban for the majority of the deaths, saying militants lobbed grenades into homes. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
Mahmoud Gul Mohammed holds his son, Dawajan, while waiting for a condolence payment from the Afghan government in Farah City. His wife and a second son were killed in fighting between the military and Taliban. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
Saeed Barakat soothes his 12-year-old daughter Tallah, while son Naeem, 13, kneels beside her bed in the burn unit of Herat Regional Hospital. Barakat’s wife was killed in the May 4 airstrikes in Garani and his three daughters were badly burned. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
Also at Herat Regional Hospital is Nazbibi Malham, 9, watched over by her father, Saeed Malham. She suffered burns to her face, arms and legs after U.S. forces reportedly hit a mosque and two housing compounds in Garani during clashes with the Taliban. Seven family members were killed and Nazbibi’s mother was also burned and is being treated for psychological trauma. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
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An Afghan government official arranges stacks of money in a suitcase in Farah City. The government gave a total of $280,000 in compensation for 140 civilians reportedly killed May 4 in U.S. airstrikes and clashes among Afghan and U.S. troops and the Taliban. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
Brothers Humayun, left, and Yasin accept compensation for slain family members from Gov. Rohul Amin, right, in Farah City. The brothers lost their parents and nine siblings, but only nine family members were on the government’s list of dead from Garani, they said. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
An Afghan National Police officer stands guard outside a police post at Bagh-e-Pol checkpoint on the southern edge of the provincial capital, Farah City. (Holly Pickett / For The Times)
