MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

POLOPS 10a

PJHQ-J9

Permanent Joint Headquarters

Northwood HQ

Sandy Lane

Northwood

Middlesex

HA6 3HP

e-mail: pjhq-j9foi@pjhq.mod.uk

11^th February 2009

Mr Laurence Rowe

[email address]

Our reference: 04-02-2009-111623-004

Dear Mr Rowe,

Request for Information

Thank you for your correspondence dated 04^th February 2009 regarding civilian casualties as a result from bombing, which is considered to be a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. I am responding on behalf of the information holders.

You asked:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am looking for an assessment of the number of civilian casualties

as a result of bombing by UK/NATO/US forces in Afghanistan. While I

am interested in all such assessments made over the duration of the

war in Afghanistan, I am particularly interested in the most recent

figures.

Yours faithfully,

Laurence Rowe

We regret incidents where civilians are accidentally killed as a result of actions by international forces. Procedures are in place, and being constantly updated in the light of experience, both to minimise the risk of these casualties occurring and to investigate any incidents that do happen. Wherever possible, local populations are warned of impending operations. We should remember the insurgents are the real threat to the safety and security of the Afghan people by their indiscriminate use of violence. ISAF forces are not present on a permanent basis in many parts of Afghanistan, which makes it difficult to monitor atrocities against the civilian population by the Taliban. It is therefore impossible to estimate with any confidence the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan that have been caused by the current conflict.

If you are unhappy with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance.  If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Director of Information Exploitation, 6th Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail [email address]).  Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.

If you remain unhappy following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate the case until the internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

POLOPS 10a