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National | Kiwis

Native Affairs - Collateral Damage

New Zealanders have been told the role of our troops in Afghanistan is to help the locals. Their focus is supposed to be on reconstruction or training and mentoring Afghan security forces.

However questions have been raised about a joint operation our military undertook with Afghan and American troops in 2010.

The operation, a night raid on a remote village, was a strike against insurgents alleged to have been involved in a kiwi soldier's death.

But tonight you will hear eye witness accounts, from those villagers who say the raid left 21 innocent Afghans dead or injured and that there were no insurgents in the village that night.

We would like to point out the footage shown in this story is not from the operation in question. Here is our special report by correspondent Jon Stephenson.

Warning, it features images that some viewers may find disturbing.