KABUL, 10 November 2009 (IRIN) - The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) has denounced a NATO-led military operation at its office in Qalat, capital of the southern province of Zabul, on 7 November.

In a press statement NATO said its soldiers killed one "enemy militant" and detained a few "suspected militants" at the compound which, it said, was "historically used by Taliban commanders".

ARCS said the person killed was the guest of an ARCS staff driver.

"Three ARCS employees who were detained by NATO forces have now been released," Saleem Wardak, the organization’s spokesman in Kabul, told IRIN, adding that the office had been damaged.

On 2 September the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan reported a "violent entry" by US forces into its hospital in Wardak Province, and on 28 August the Health Ministry reported the destruction of a hospital in Paktika Province as a result of fighting between insurgents and international forces.