The Korengal Valley

KORENGAL VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 29: The body of one of two children killed during an explosion is carried on a makeshift stretcher by local residents during his funeral as US Army soldiers of B Company, 2nd Battalion,12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade,4th Infantry Division Baker Company investigate the incident on October 29, 2009 in the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. An Afghan child of approximate 6-years-old was brought on October 29, 2009 by afghan villagers to the Korengal Outpost with serious wounds to his legs and abdomen, and once treated by the medics of the US army at the Korengal Outpost he was then evacuated by helicopter to a better facility. The US Army Comanding officer of the Korengal outpost was informed that in the same incident two other children had lost their lives and that the funerals would have been held that same day in the nearby village. He decided to send a patrol to raid the village after the funeral to inquire about the incident, suspecting that it was the fault of the Taliban who were preparing an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) to attack the US forces and that possibly while doing so, something went wrong and the device exploded wounding one child and killing the other two. Following the patrol sixteen Afghan villagers were brought back to the Korengal Outpost for questioning and four of them were held in custody overnight at the gym of the outpost. They were later released after their record was checked. No one has been able to determinate what really caused the death and the injury of the children.The Korengal valley, in the eastern frontier of Afghanistan, has become the stronghold of the Taliban fighters. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)