Kandahar, Afghanistan — An Afghan elder is disputing the Canadian military's claim that it was a man associated with the Taliban who attacked a Canadian soldier with an axe.
Haji Mohammed Eisah said the axe-wielding attacker was a 16-year-old boy with no Taliban connections.
Mr. Eisah identified the attacker as Abdul Karim, the son of a poor shoe repairman. Mr. Eisah said the boy may have been angry at coalition and Afghan army tactics, such as operations where they search and occupy the homes of villagers.
Mr. Eisah is an elder in Kondalan Schinkai, the scene of the attack where Mr. Karim lived.
Captain Trevor Greene was seriously injured on Saturday when a young man struck him in the head with an axe while he was speaking with villagers. The Canadian military says his attacker was a Taliban militant in his 20s.
The assailant was subsequently shot to death by Canadian troops.
Canadian and Afghan forces who were accompanying them then exchanged fire with other insurgents, including one who threw a grenade.
Mr. Eisah said a man, a girl and a boy were injured in the ensuing barrage of gunfire, casualties that were not mentioned by the Canadian army.
238
