An Afghan boy looks through a broken window at the site of the raid in Imam Sahib.

US Used by Afghan Drug Clan to Take Out Rival -- Der Spiegel

A "high-ranking" member of al-Qaida was seized during a recent US mission in Afghanistan which left five people dead. But the Americans were set up: The tip-off as to his location came from a drug clan who wanted to get rid of a rival.

A secret mission by elite American Delta Force commandos in northern Afghanistan has triggered resentment among German forces, SPIEGEL has learned.

The American forces were tricked by a drug clan into taking out a rival as part of an operation to seize an al-Qaida member. Now German soldiers are paying the price for the operation's civilian casualties.

Read more ....

My Comment: The problem with this German report and its protestations, is that an Al Qaeda operative was there, and that the people who were his hosts also fired back at the Americans. This tip-off also came about because the tipster did not trust the Germans .... which makes sense when you read and learn how much the Germans are upset that this occurred on their turf without being notified. From my point of view .... it appears that they were protecting and/or tolerating him.

So .... the US used by an Afghan drug clan to take out a rival .... hmmmm ..... it appears that the Germans were being used to keep a drug operation going.

I can understand why the Americans did not trust their German counterparts.