Afghan woman killed in Nato convoy crash

Kabul traffic accident – believed to involve British troops – heightens tensions between Afghans and foreigners

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• Jon Boone in Kabul
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 April 2011 13.56 BST
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A British soldier patrols the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. A Nato convoy crash in the capital has sparked violent protests. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters
Kabul police have said a British military convoy was responsible for crashing into a group of women on a busy Kabul street on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring two. The incident, which prompted bystanders to throw stones at the vehicles, comes at a time of heightened tension between Afghans and foreigners after days of rioting triggered by a US pastor burning a Qur'an in an incident that led to the deaths of seven UN employees last week . A traffic accident involving US troops in 2006 in Kabul provoked the most serious rioting the capital has seen, with the offices of aid agencies set alight. Hashmatullah Stanekzai, a Kabul police spokesman, said the troops involved were British, although that was not confirmed by Nato. Shopkeepers working on the main road in western Kabul said three black armoured four-wheel drive vehicles had been moving at speed when the lead vehicle ploughed into the women, one of whom was thrown 4 metres (13ft) down the street. They were carrying shopping and trying to cross the road when the first vehicle slammed on its breaks, and the car behind crashed into it. "The soldiers came out of the car and started treating the women, but they wouldn't not let anyone else come and help," said Saboor, a grocer who owns a shop near the collision site. "But when the soldiers tried to leave without completely sorting out the problem, the crowd became very angry and started throwing rocks at the cars." They also attacked the guard box of the nearby ministry of water and power. Contrary to initial reports, neither the Afghan police nor the soldiers opened fire on the demonstrators, although Saboor said an officer did threaten the crowd with a handgun. A statement by Nato's international security assistance force said the vehicles moved on after the wounded had been taken to a hospital. Police had earlier wrongly reported that three people had died, including one person who had been shot.