March 4, 2007 Shooting in Afghanistan

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On March 4, 2007, US Marine Special Forces^[1] who had just escaped an early-morning ambush by Taliban insurgents in Muhmand Dara, Afghanistan, retaliated^[2] by opening fire on nearby civilians, including pedestrians and as many as 15 passing cars, including those that had pulled to the side of the road to comply with orders^[3]^[4].

Haji Ihsanullah, a member of Hezb e Islami^[5], initially drove a minivan laden with explosives^[6] into one of the five vehicles making up the US convoy, which included three humvees, wounding one Marine.^[7]^[8] Sources differ on whether or not hidden gunmen then also opened fire on the convoy.^[9]

US forces then fled the scene of the ambush "firing wildly"^[10], opening fire on every civilian and vehicle they saw for 6 miles while driving along the Afghan street^[11].

Initial reports stated that 14 civilians had been killed in the attack, and another 35 were wounded by the gunfire. But officials at Bagram Air Base later claimed that only 8 had been killed.^[12] Other sources reported that 4 of the wounded later died of their injuries at Jalalabad Hospital.^[13]

The event was described as an "emotional" response by the US forces, by Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zmarai Bashiri. Hundreds, or thousands^[14], of Afghans gathered to protest the shooting. US troops also forced two Associated Press photojournalists to delete their digital photographs of the attack's aftermath,^[15] although al Jazeera photojournalists then visited the scene and captured similar footage.^[16]

The shooting is under investigation by both Afghanistan^[17] and the United States.