FROM THE ARCHIVE

U.S. confirms senior center hit

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2001

The Pentagon on Tuesday acknowledged a 1,000-pound U.S. bomb hit a senior citizen's center in western Afghanistan.

Military jets had intended to strike a vehicle storage building at an army barracks approximately 300 feet from the home, located in Herat. It was not clear, however, if the senior center was the same military hospital the United Nations said was, leading the Taliban to claim at least 100 people were killed.

The Sunday incident was one of two the Pentagon has admitted to bombs missing their intended target. Earlier in the day, two 500-pound bombs hit a residential area in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

The admission came as the Pentagon said there is evidence Taliban rebels are hiding in residential areas to specifically avoid U.S.-led attacks on their country. The U.S. and Great Britain specifically raided rural areas in order to avoid civilian deaths.

Get the Story:
Errant Bombs May Have Hit Afghan Civilians, U.S. Says (The Washington Post 10/24)
Taliban's Human Shields (The Washington Post 10/24)
Pentagon cites evidence that Taliban troops seek refuge in residential areas to avoid US bombs (AP 10/23)

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