KABUL, July 19 (AFP) - Eight Afghan villagers and soldiers were injured last week when US-led forces blew up a heavy weapons store in Qarabagh district north of Kabul, an Afghan commander said Monday.
Five civilians and three Afghan soldiers were injured Friday when American troops dynamited a weapons depot 33 kilometres (21 miles) north of the city near US-led coalition headquarters at Bagram air base, General Abdul Rezaq said.
"The store was 500 metres (yards) away from the village of 300 families and the explosion injured eight people," the commander of the first brigade of the eighth military division said.
The five villagers included women and children, he said.
Razaq said the heavy weapons had been stored in a house in the Qala-e-Mossa village that was too near the village to be blown up safely.
"We told the Americans that they were all legal registered weapons with the defence ministry and there was no need to destroy them," Rezaq said.
According to Rezaq and several residents, villagers argued with US forces telling them to move the weapons away from the village before destroying them. However they offered no resistance because they were afraid of provoking violence from US troops.
"They (the soldiers) said 'No we want to blow them up right here'. We argued with them for hours not to do that, but they didn't accept it," Rezaq said.
US forces could not be reached for comment.