Dutch military police probe civilian participation in fighting with Taliban

The Dutch military police are investigating the engagement of a Dutch filmmaker in fighting with the Taliban militants in Afghanistan, said the Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf, on Tuesday.

During an exchange of fire, the man grabbed the MAG machine-gun from a commando and started shooting at enemy fighters, said the newspaper.

It is not known whether the filmmaker killed anyone. But NATO estimates that about 20 insurgents were killed in the fighting. Several civilians were also wounded in the incident.

The filmmaker, Vik Franke, was producing a documentary on the activities of the Dutch Commando Corps troops.

On Oct. 11, he took part in a patrol along with about 25 members of the Dutch special forces, several U.S. troops and an Afghan army unit.

Six km from the base the vehicle hit a roadside bomb, killing one Afghan soldier and wounding nine others.

The men were then fired on from three sides by a large group of Taliban fighters, who had planned the ambush. The documentary maker continued filming until his camera battery died.

"We wanted to withdraw to a dry river bed but we were also being fired on from that side," said Franke. "I once learned in military service that in a situation like that you should return fire. That's why I took the Diemaco from a commando and shot in the direction of a cornfield where the muzzle flashes from Taliban weapons could be clearly seen."

Franke has raised many eyebrows among military personnel in Afghanistan because of the operational details he revealed about his time with the troops. He talked about his "tour of duty" and called the commandos "my comrades-in-arms," according to the paper.

"It is certainly not the department's intention that civilians should be using weapons," a defense spokesperson was quoted as saying. But the spokesperson didn't want to pronounce any verdict on the case. "We will leave that to the Marechaussee (military police) which is investigating the case," the spokesperson said.

Source: Xinhua