Unexploded bombs trap Afghan villagers
Unexploded bombs from a US air raid have trapped villagers in an Afghan hamlet, leaving families afraid to venture out of their homes.
UN mine-removal officials have appealed for information from the US about explosives dropped at the village of Shaker Qala.
Shaker Qala is outside the city of Herat, near a military camp.
Dan Kelly, manager of a UN mine removal programme for Afghanistan, said: "The villagers have a lot to be afraid of, because these bomblets, if they did not explode, are very dangerous.
"They can explode if the villagers so much as touch them."
UN officials believe the bombardment of the area on Monday included cluster bombs - munitions that normally carry up to 200 3lb bomblets.
A group of villagers appeared at the UN mine removal offices in Herat the next morning saying the drinks-can-size devices were littering their village.
Mine-removal workers are trying to clear paths for villagers so they can leave their homes and go about daily activities.
Without more information about the bomblets, workers are simply piling sandbags around them. Cluster bomblets spray shrapnel at the velocity of a bullet and can set on fire any combustible material around them.
About 70% of the people of Herat have taken refuge in surrounding villages like Shaker Qala, escaping US attacks on Taliban targets in the city.
