Afghans Say 5 Killed in a U.S. Raid Were Farmers

CHAR CHINE, Afghanistan, May 18 — A circle of trampled wheat stalks and dark bloodstains marked the place where the three villagers died, one of them a 13-year-old boy — gunned down in an American air attack as they hid in the wheat field, relatives and neighbors here said.

They were among five people killed when American Special Forces raided this small farming village in the province of Oruzgan, on the night of May 12. Villagers said they fled their homes in the dark as planes and helicopters strafed the houses and fields, fired rockets and then landed dozens of soldiers to search the houses. They detained at least 20 villagers and a number of visitors, they said.