Story of a raid: US night operations anger Afghans (AP)

PUL-I-ALAM, Afghanistan – The American soldiers stormed into the Afghan family's compound in the middle of the night, kicking in doors and shouting. They ordered everyone into the yard, bound their hands, covered their heads and interrogated them for hours before taking away three men who had done nothing wrong.

At least that's the way the Afghans tell it.

NATO has a different account of the raid: A force led by Afghans was searching for a Taliban leader and got a tip from residents that three insurgents were living in the compound. The force struck at night when the suspects were likely to be home and took all three away for further questioning. The troops were as respectful as they could be, given that they had to make sure no one started shooting at them.

This happens in Afghanistan nearly every night. Sometimes the men turn out to be bombmakers or fighters, sometimes ordinary civilians. But in every case there are angry family members who feel violated or mistreated.

The U.S. will likely rely more and more on night raids as it shifts to a strategy of using special operators and drones to track down and kill Taliban leaders following President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that 30,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan by next summer.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly condemned night operations as unnecessary and humiliating.

Accounts of what happened at the Khosrawi family compound in eastern Logar province on June 8 show why night raids continue to be such a flash point, and why NATO may never be able to conduct them without making enemies.

This much everyone agrees on: Two of the men taken in the raid were released five days later. The third, a teenager, is still being held.

Relatives say even if all of them are eventually freed, they will still feel wronged.

"Even if he is a criminal, is it really necessary to charge into a man's house in the middle of the night when he is there with his children?" asked Samad Shah Khosrawi, a cousin of the detained men who works at the electric company in Kabul and has been trying to enlist powerful government allies to free the remaining detainee.

Nineteen-year-old Nooryalai Khosrawi, the older brother of the detained teenager, spoke to The Associated Press in Kabul a few days after the raid. He gave the following account:

The four families that live in the Khosrawi compound — 25 people in all — went to sleep in their separate houses as usual. Sometime in the middle of the night, soldiers started jumping over the property wall and into the yard.

Nooryalai Khosrawi said he woke up when a soldier broke down the door to his room. When he opened his eyes a man was standing over him with a gun.

The soldiers took everyone outside into the courtyard, tied their wrists and put hoods over their heads. Nooryalai Khosrawi's youngest brother started sobbing. He pushed him to the ground to stop the crying. He was afraid it would antagonize the soldiers.

The Americans took people to the corner of the compound one by one to ask them questions.

"They asked me, 'What did you do today and where did you go?' I said I went to school and back home," Nooryalai Khosrawi said. The Americans accused him of rigging one of the compound's motorcycles with explosives. He said it wasn't true.

Soldiers told him they had reports from elders in Sorayak village that insurgents were in the compound. He said the reports were wrong.

Although NATO says it conducts night raids only in partnership with Afghan forces and said numerous Afghan security forces were involved in the raid, Nooryalai Khosrawi said he saw only two Afghans in the force — and both were translators. The rest were American soldiers.

The Logar provincial police chief said only one Afghan security force member was involved in the operation, the district police commander.

"In special operations like this there are not a huge number of troops so we only sent one police representative," Ghulam Sakhi Rog Lewandi said in an interview in the provincial capital of Pul-i-Alam. He said he did not know how many U.S. troops were involved.

When they finished the questioning after two or three hours, the soldiers took the three men away with them, along with seven mobile phones they had confiscated. No one knew where they were going or if they'd see the captives again, Nooryalai Khosrawi said.

A NATO statement on the raid said that Afghan and international security forces went into the district in search of a Taliban leader who had overseen attacks against Afghan government officials and directed a bomb-making cell.

"The individuals were detained after the Afghan-led security force searched a suspected compound and questioned residents. The information provided led to their detention and the men were transported with the security force for additional questioning. No civilians were harmed during the night operation," NATO said.

Asked for further details on why the men were taken, a spokesman for the international coalition said such information was classified for security reasons.

"As a matter of security, we don't discuss what information led to their detention. The information obtained during initial questioning led to their detention and they were taken for further questioning," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jason Haag.

The next day, the family tried to find out where the men had been taken and what they were accused of. Village elders went to the governor's office to petition for their release.

Samad Shah Khosrawi, the cousin, said the elders were told that the men had been wrongly arrested and that the governor was working for their release. The governor's spokesman told the AP the same day that the governor was working on the request but could not make any judgment on their guilt. Gov. Atiqullah Ludin told the AP just hours later that he had not been informed of the raid.

The elders also went to the provincial council. The council's spokesman told the AP that he had notified the unit which coordinates between Afghan and international forces, and that this unit was going to track down the detainees. A spokesman for the unit told the AP that he had not received any information from the provincial council about a raid.

In Kabul, Samad Shah Khosrawi started asking anyone he knew in the government how he could track down his cousins and what he could to for their release. The two older men are shopkeepers, the younger is a student, he says he told them. They aren't Taliban. The Khosrawi family are ethnic Tajiks — a group less likely to be recruited into the insurgency than Pashtuns.

No one went to the police. Lewandi, the Logar police chief, said this likely meant the community knew they were guilty.

Samad Shah Khosrawi, the Kabul cousin, said no one in Sorayak has trusted the police since two years ago when police opened fire on villagers who went to try to help officers wounded when their vehicle struck a bomb.

"Three bullets killed my cousin's son," he said.

On June 13 — five days after the raid — the family got a call: The two older men had been released to Afghan intelligence officers and then freed altogether.

Bashir Ahmad Khosrawi was one of the men who was taken. A 35-year-old shopkeeper, he said in a phone call after he was freed that he didn't know why he was taken.

He said he was held for four days by U.S. forces in a cell in Logar. His brother Sayed Agha Khosrawi was in the next cell.

The soldiers showed Ahmad photos they had taken of his family and asked who the people were. They showed him a map and asked him to point out specific villages. They went through the numbers in the mobile phones and asked who everyone was. They tested his hands for gunpowder residue.

"They thought we had someone from the enemy in our houses. I told them we were sleeping and you barged in at midnight and searched my whole house," he said. "They were trying to find some proof. But they couldn't find any proof."

He said he was treated well — no one so much as tapped him on his shoulder. Soldiers were friendly and asked after his health.

He was upset that they didn't return the captured mobile phones when they released him. But he said he wasn't going to go back and ask for them.

"We are just so happy to be free. We don't care about the mobiles," Bashir Ahmad Khosrawi said.

The men's release was a cause for celebration in Sorayak. People kept coming over to tell them that they thought the two brothers had disappeared for good.

They've yet to have any news of Noorzai Khosrawi, 16, who they assume must still be in the custody of U.S. forces.

"If he's innocent, he'll be released," said Lewandi, the police chief.

"I just want them to show me some proof," said Samad Shah Khosrawi. "If he is guilty of something, then fine, let them cut his throat."

___

Associated Press Writer Amir Shah contributed to this report.

___

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As Austerity Anger Swells, Greece's Government Struggles (Time.com)

Updates Appended: June 16, 2011

Even after the scuffles between police and anarchists erupted into clouds of tear gas on June 15, Giorgos Liolios did not leave Syntagma Square. For more than a year, Liolis, a 37-year old Athenian struggling to keep his small bakery afloat, was part of the silent majority that gave Prime Minister George Papandreou the benefit of the doubt. But after a year of austerity left him nearly broke, his brother unemployed and the debt-ridden country no better off, he drove to Athens from his suburb to stand alongside thousands of angry Greeks who, for weeks, had transformed Syntagma into a mini-Tahrir Square, complete with drum circles, tents and Cretan rebel songs.

"Everyone in that building should be ashamed," he says, pointing to the parliament building, which is now surrounded by protesters waving banners depicting Papandreou as Judas and a donkey. "They want us to sacrifice, but we need to see why we're sacrificing. As Greeks, we just want to live with enough money to get by, to have a little dignity. We can't do that anymore. We can't take it anymore. Why can't George Papandreou understand that?" (See pictures of economy-driven riots in Greece.)

It's now clear that Papandreou got the message. On Thursday, which also happened to be the American-born Premier's 59th birthday, he presided over an emergency meeting of the parliamentary group of his ruling party, PASOK, which he leads and his father, Andreas, founded, after two deputies defected and a day after state-run NET TV reported that he had considered resigning. But afterwards, in a televised speech to PASOK deputies, Papandreou vowed to stay in office and work to lead Greece out of its debt crisis.

"We do not have the luxury to run away" from our responsibilities, he said, to applause from the PASOK deputies. "I have to fight, all of us here have to fight."

It was a show of party unity after a fractious Wednesday, when Papandreou huddled with advisors and talked to Antonis Samaras, leader of the main opposition party New Democracy, about forming a coalition government that would pursue austerity policy together. In a short televised speech Wednesday night, he said he would form a new cabinet and ask parliament for a vote of no-confidence. Samaras responded with his own televised speech and said that the country and markets no longer had faith in the Socialists.

Pressure on Papandreou has been building for weeks. On June 13 Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's credit rating, handing it the lowest rating in the world and noting the country is "increasingly likely" to face debt restructuring. With his poll ratings in free fall and his own deputies defecting from the Party, Papandreou seems to be running out of options. Some analysts wondered if he would even last the day as Premier. (See more on Greece's debt crisis.)

"This government is almost dead," says Kostas Ifantis, a political science professor at the University of Athens. "I cannot see how they can push forward with the very, very painful measures the country needs. It was hard ten months ago, but it's even harder now."

There's little indication that a new government will pave the way to stability - even if new cabinet consists of fresh faces rather than longtime Greek politicians, whom most Greeks view as hopelessly corrupt and insular. "Markets are not going to respond well to this political turbulence," says Theodore Pelagidis, a professor of economic analysis at the University of Piraeus. "Right now, what is seriously lacking in this country is political leadership, and neither major party can offer it. There is no way out of this crisis without a healthy political system, which this country does not have." (See how one year after the bailout, Greece is still hurting.)

Papandreou's new resolve means snap elections will be put off - for now. If his government continues to struggle, elections may be the only option down the road, analysts say. "In addition to an economic crisis in Greece, we now have a legitimacy crisis," says law professor Aristides Hatzis, who runs www.greekcrisis.net, a blog that diligently charts every twist and turn of the debt crisis. "George Papandreou was elected on a mandate of expanding government and he has had to shrink it. People are demonstrating every day outside parliament, and some people are even attacking parliament. Elections are the only way to regain legitimacy."

But even if elections take place, the country still faces a leadership vacuum. Support for both PASOK and New Democracy have reached new lows, which suggests neither party would have a majority in early elections. Defectors from those groups have joined smaller parties, such as the sclerotic Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the nationalist, often incendiary Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), diluting the power of the main parties even more. (See how Greek voters gave the austerity plan a second chance.)

Back in Syntagma Square, Giorgos Liolios shakes his head as young demonstrators throw rocks at riot police, who respond with still more tear gas. He smeared his face with liquid Maalox earlier in the morning to close his pores, but that doesn't stop his eyes from stinging. Through all the haze and turmoil, it's difficult for him to see any clear champion for the millions of Greeks struggling to get by. Business at his small bakery is down 50 percent from last year. His taxes have gone up. Even the spaghetti he buys at the supermarket has doubled in price. "I'm not an anarchist, I'm not a fascist, I'm not a punk," he says, wiping his face. "I'm a Greek. Just a regular person trying to have a regular life. I'm willing to make sacrifices for my country, but not if it leaves me for dead."

The original version of this story has been updated to reflect new developments.

See pictures of the global financial crisis.

See photos of the Greeks' spring of protest.

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Iran anger over remarks by UK's Hague

Remarks made by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague have angered Tehran. Britain says Iran is helping Syria crush protestsIran says the comments are "completely unfounded"The British Foreign Office stands by the remarks

(CNN) -- Iran took Britain to task Thursday over what it says were "unfounded" remarks by the United Kingdom's top diplomat on Tehran's alleged role in helping stifle protests in strife-torn Syria.

The Foreign Ministry summoned Britain's charge d'affaires, Jane Marriott, over the remarks by Foreign Secretary William Hague, state-run Press TV said. Marriott said she convey Iran's protests to the British government.

Hague told the House of Commons on Tuesday that Iran "is combining brutal suppression of opposition leaders at home with the provision of equipment and technical advice to help the Syrian regime crush protests in Syria."

"This is unacceptable, and compounds our concern about Iran's behavior and its intentions over its nuclear program," he said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said the British government "is not qualified to make such comments about other countries because of (its) interfering measures and destructive role in the region's developments."

It called the comments "completely unfounded and based on a series of lies."

Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the summoning and said the charge d'affaires in Tehran "was asked to explain recent UK statements on Iran, including on Iran's role supporting the Syrian regime in crushing protests."

It emphasized that it "stands by its statements" and has raised the issue in London with the Iranian charge d'affaires.

"We remain extremely concerned by the Iranian government's repression of its own people and its support for violent elements in the region. We have seen credible information suggesting Iran is helping Syria with the suppression of protests there, including through the provision of expertise and equipment."

It also raised another issue, the contention that Iran has provided weaponry to Taliban militants.

"We also note that Iran has provided no response to clear evidence of its provision of arms to the Taliban -- a matter we have referred to the U.N. for investigation," the Foreign Office said.

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Swift Justice in Murder that Stirred Anger in China (Time.com)

One month after a traffic fatality touched off widespread protests in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, a court has sentenced a coal truck driver to death for running over and killing an ethnic Mongolian herder. The rapid trial and sentencing showed the speed with which Chinese authorities have moved to tamp down unrest in the region.

On Wednesday the Intermediate People's Court of Xilin Gol league found driver Li Lindong guilty of murder immediately after a six-hour trial, Chinese state press reported. The court ruled that Li had intentionally run over and dragged Mergen, who like some ethnic Mongolians goes by a single name. Mergen was part of a group of herders who had blocked coal trucks to protest the damaged they caused to traditional herding lands. A fellow defendant who had been in the cab of the truck with Li was sentenced to life in prison, and two other men were given three-year sentences for interfering with the police investigation. (Photos: Mongolia Marches Toward Modernity)

Mergen's May 10 killing touched off a series of protests in the frontier region, where decades of immigration by China's Han majority have raised complaints about the exploitation of natural resources and the decline of the traditional culture of ethnic Mongols, who now comprise 20% of Inner Mongolia's population. Mergen's killing was followed five days later by the death of another Mongolian, Yan Wenlong, who was crushed by a forklift during a protest at a coal mine. Chinese authorities responded swiftly to the protests, dispatching thousands of armed police, blocking Mongolian students from leaving campuses and restricting discussion of the events on Chinese websites.

In recent years China has seen deadly race riots in other border regions with large minority populations including Tibet in 2008 and Xinjiang in 2009. But the Inner Mongolia protests were particularly unsettling for the government. While there is a small movement of Mongolians who would like Inner Mongolia to split from China and form an independent state or join with the nation of Mongolia to the north, the region has been largely free of the sort of unrest seen in China's western frontier regions. As with the Tibet and Xinjiang riots, the Chinese government placed the blame on outsiders. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu accused "overseas groups" of seizing on the deaths to "cause trouble." She said the government would deal with the cases according to the law and address the broader grievances raised. Last week an official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection told a press conference that China would restrict projects in environmentally sensitive parts of Inner Mongolia. (Photos: On the Cutting Edge -- China's Extraordinary Buildings)

In China, high-profile criminal cases that arouse public anger and attention sometimes see rapid trials. The time between Mergen's death and the sentencing of his killer was just over four weeks. Last year a man who stabbed to death eight children at a primary school in southeastern Fujian province was sentenced to death just over two weeks after he committed the murders. He was executed 20 days later.

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Grief, anger in Syria after deadly violence

Syrian soldiers prepare to hand over an elderly Syrian woman who was caught trying to cross the border into northern Lebanon.NEW: A massive funeral procession in HomsNEW: A human rights group says at least 44 people died on Azadi Friday11 people, seven of whom were injured, crossed the border to Turkey

(CNN) -- At least one person was killed and dozens more were injured on Saturday when security forces in the restive Syrian city of Homs Saturday greeted anguished mourners with brute force, an activist told CNN.

The latest confrontation rattled a country on edge after at least 44 people died in Homs and other cities Friday when Syrian security personnel fired at demonstrators, according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

The violence erupted after as tens of thousands of people marched in a funeral procession and went to a graveyard to bury some of the Friday's victims, the activist said. The assault began after mourners were filing out of the cemetery, the activist said.

"We were chanting and praying for the martyrs and they just sprayed us with their bullets. I saw seven to eight people on the ground bleeding and moaning. I ran as fast as I could as bullets flew past us towards the fields and hid among the olive trees until another mourner saw me and helped me walk to the main road," the activist said.

"From there I ran to my apartment to see my wife and children. We live very close to the graveyard and I can still hear the sound of heavy gunfire coming from the area."

Security forces earlier used force against 300 demonstrators in Homs who were demanding the right of mourners to march through the city center. But security forces forcefully put down the turnout in about 30 minutes, and many of the demonstrators were arrested.

Later Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered for the funeral procession on the outskirts of the city to bury eight victims of the Friday demonstrations, and it appeared the event would remain peaceful.

The miles-long funeral procession defiantly passed by army stations and several tanks, but the marchers were greeted kindly by soldiers to which the crowd responded by chanting, "The people and the army are one hand."

However, violence erupted as security forces stepped in, the activist said. Mourners quickly dispersed some into the graveyards and surrounding fields, and gunfire could be heard.

CNN has not been granted access into Syria and is unable to independently verify witness accounts.

The deaths occurred after demonstrations broke out after Friday prayers in Syrian cities, as they have for weeks.

Every week, the demonstrations have particular themes. May 20 was Azadi Friday in honor of the Syrian Kurdish protesters. Azadi means "freedom" in Kurdish.

A military source quoted by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said at least 17 civilians and security personnel were killed on Friday by the unidentified "armed groups" the government has been blaming for the discord.

For two months, Syria has been torn by street protests against political repression and a fierce security crackdown against demonstrators.

The government's fierce actions toward marchers and its thousands of mass arrests have drawn widespread criticism.

Around 830 people have been killed in protests, according to the Syrian Human Rights Information Link.

That number does not include security personnel, many of whom have been killed in attacks by "armed groups," according to the Syrian government.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials. On Thursday, President Barack Obama singled out Syria for criticism during his speech on the Middle East.

The clashes have spurred people to flee to other countries, such as Turkey and Lebanon.

Seven injured Syrians and four others people crossed the border into Turkey and were brought to Antakya state hospital Friday night, according to a doctor and the Hatay province governor quoted by Turkey's state-run Anatolian Agency.

The doctor at the Antakya State Hospital said the patients were between the ages of 25 and 40 and the injuries stemmed from gunshots. One patient was in intensive care and some of them had injuries on their feet. Another patient who was shot on the eye, was transferred to the university hospital in Hatay.

About 250 Syrians fled to Turkey end of April, mostly from Latakia, on the western coast of Syria. They have been living in a tent camp set up by the Turkish Red Crescent for them in the border town of Yayladagi since then.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and al-Assad developed close ties between Turkey and Syria in recent years.

Turkey lifted visa restrictions on Syrian visitors last year. But escalating violence in Syria is increasing worries of the Turkish government which has been advocating a "zero problems" foreign policy with its neighbors.

The U.N. refugee agency on Friday said it is helping serve the thousands of Syrians who "escaped to the border areas of Wadi Khaled and Tall Bire in northern Lebanon. "

"Local leaders say some 1,400 people have crossed into these two regions over the past week from Tall Kalakh in Syria.

"This is in addition to those that have crossed since late April. Local authorities estimate that around 4,000 Syrians have crossed to Lebanon recently," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.

The agency said many have found refuge with host families or relatives and some have taken shelter in a school.

The Human Rights Watch on Friday said locally elected officials are estimating that 3,500 Syrians "are currently present" in the Wadi Khaled area.

But it criticized Lebanon's security forces for detaining Syrian refugees in some instances.

It said nine Syrian men and a child have been detained since Sunday. The relatives and friends of these people said they fled to Lebanon because they were afraid Syrian forces would arrest or shoot them.

"Lebanese authorities should instead provide them with at least temporary asylum, and above all refrain from deporting them back to Syria," Human Rights Watch said.

"Syria welcomed many Lebanese fleeing war back in 2006," said Nadim Houry, Beirut director at Human Rights Watch.

"Now it's time to return the favor. Lebanon should be offering immediate refuge to Syrians fleeing death or torture in their country."

CNN's Arwa Damon, Yesim Comert, Hamdi Alkhshali, Salma Abdelaziz and Joe Sterling contributed to this report

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Anger flares at Egypt army for lethal protest raid

By Khaled Desouki, AFP/Getty Images

Egyptians walk past a burnt armed forces truck at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday after clashes with military police.

EnlargeCloseBy Khaled Desouki, AFP/Getty Images

Egyptians walk past a burnt armed forces truck at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday after clashes with military police.

In the pre-dawn raid, hundreds of soldiers, including a highly trained parachute unit, swarmed into Tahrir Square, firing in the air and beating protesters with clubs and shocking some with electrical batons. Troops dragged away protesters, while others staggered away bleeding from beatings and gunshot wounds. Witnesses reported two killed, though the Health Ministry insisted there was only one death.

"It was like a horror movie," said Mohammed Yehia, an activist and university student from the Nile Delta who was among the protesters.

DEMANDS: Protesters want Mubarak prosecutedISLAMISTS: Look for gains in EgyptTOURISM: Country waits for visitors to returnThe confrontation escalates weeks of rising tensions between the pro-reform protest movement and the military leaders, a sharp contrast from the scenes two months ago when protesters hugged and kissed soldiers on tanks in Tahrir Square as President Hosni Mubarak was ousted and the military took power.

It could mark a key juncture in Egypt's upheaval. For weeks, protest leaders have been critical of the military council's handling of the post-Mubarak transition and its failure to prosecute the former president, but both sides also worked to stay on good terms. Now the overnight clashes resembled the ugliest moments of the 18-day protest movement against Mubarak — with authorities cracking down violently and protesters chanting for the leader's removal.

Soldiers detained 41 youth protesters in the raid, said human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Ansari, and they now face military tribunals for violating military bans on gatherings.

The bloodshed opened rifts in the protest movement over how to react. Some demanded protesters push ahead with the confrontation with the military, while others warned a conflict with the army — Egypt's most powerful institution — would be disastrous for the movement, saying some form of coexistence must be found.

Democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose supporters were among those who organized the wave of anti-Mubarak protests, said in a Twitter message that "dialogue is the only alternative." He said "confidence between the people and army" must be preserved "for the sake of the nation."

Egypt's largest Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, also warned against any attempt to cause divisions between the people and the army, calling them "one hand."

But anger flared at a press conference held at Cairo's Journalist Syndicate, where representatives of various political parties and movements tried and failed to produce a joint statement on the night's events.

Amr Hamzawy, co-founder of a new liberal political party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, called for all sides to exercise "extreme measures of restraint," warning of "organized" attempts to cause conflicts with the military.

But Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a member of the coalition of youth activists that organized the anti-Mubarak campaign, denounced a series of incidents of excessive use of force by the military against protesters.

"Now there is blood between the people and the armed forces. This happened three times, why are they not prosecuting those responsible for it," Abdel Hamid said, sparking shouting matches among some defending the military and others demanding the "killers" be put on trial.

Back in Tahrir Square, several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks and other makeshift weapons, vowed not to leave until the defense minister, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, resigns. Tantawi, a Mubarak appointee, leads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which now rules Egypt and is made up of the military's top generals, promoted to their current positions also by Mubarak.

Black smoke rose as protesters set fire to three vehicles in the square, including two troop carriers. The square was filled with shattered glass, stones, and debris in a scene reminiscent of the protests that brought down Mubarak on Feb. 11. The glass storefront of a KFC on the square was also smashed — only weeks after it was repaired from damage during the anti-Mubarak protests.

"We are staging a sit-in until the field marshal is prosecuted," said Anas Esmat, a 22-year-old university student in Tahrir as protesters dragged debris and barbed wire to seal off the streets leading into the square.

"The people want the fall of the field marshal," chanted protesters. "Tantawi is Mubarak and Mubarak is Tantawi," went another chant.

The military's heavy crackdown appeared prompted in part by the presence in Tahrir of around 25 army officers who joined the protesters and were denouncing the military's leadership, saying Mubarak was continuing to rule through Tantawi and the other generals. In a public statement Saturday, one of the officers demanded the dissolving of the Supreme Council, its replacement by a presidential council and the prosecution of those behind the killing of protesters.

The military blamed the turmoil on "thugs" and "outlaws" who had infiltrated the protesters in the square and violated the country's 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. In a press conference Saturday evening, the council also blamed "foreign hands" and claimed that armed protesters fired on themselves.

The assault on the protesters came hours after tens of thousands of Egyptians massed in Tahrir Square on Friday in one of the biggest rallies in weeks, demanding the military prosecute Mubarak and his family for corruption that permeated his nearly 29-year regime.

At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, hundreds of soldiers backed by a line of armored vehicles swept into the square, firing heavy barrages into the air with automatic weapons and pounding transparent shields to intimidate protesters camped out in the center of the roundabout.

The troops waded into the tent camp, where protesters had formed a human cordon to protect the army officers who had joined them.

Yehia, the university student activist, described how a friend of his ripped off his shirt and stood between protesters and the soldiers, chanting "peaceful, peaceful" until soldiers beat him with clubs and electric batons, leaving him covered in bruises. Soldiers kicked and beat another man who had fallen to the ground, he said.

Ali Mustafa, a car mechanic who was guarding the "free soldiers" tent, said he saw an attacking soldier stab one of the officers to death with his bayonet. He pointed to a section of pavement stained with blood under a small pile of garbage and food remains. Witnesses reported that two of the 25 officers were arrested by the soldiers but others escaped.

Another protester was shot dead, said Ahmed Gamal, who said he helped carry away the body. The deaths could not be confirmed.

The Health Ministry issued a statement saying only one person was killed and 71 wounded, some of them with gunshot wounds, including three in critical condition.

Witnesses said the troops beat protesters with batons, fists and kicks and dragged protesters away and threw them into police trucks. Near the famed Egyptian Museum, which overlooks the square, protesters trying to flee were blocked by soldiers, who hit them and knocked them.

"I saw them detain a bunch at the museum. They were beating some pretty badly," said one protester, Loai Nagati.

Several hundred — including women and children who had been among the protesters — fled to a nearby mosque for refuge, with families searching frantically for children lost in the melee.

During the 18 days of protests that led to Mubarak's ouster, protesters embraced the army after it refused to open fire on their rallies, and many welcomed the army's move to step in to rule.

But tensions have since grown. Reports have emerged of some protesters including blogger who campagined against army abuse, arrested and tortured by the military in past weeks. Many have complained that the military's handling of the transition to democracy has been too secretive, ignoring some demands, and too fast.

But the failure to prosecute Mubarak and his family has stoked the most anger, touted by some as a sign that Tantawi and the other generals are protecting the former president. Prosecutors have put on trial or started investigations against a string of former senior figures from Mubarak's regime on allegations of corruption, exploiting their positions to amass personal fortunes and other crimes.

But so far, there has been no move against Mubarak or his son Gamal, who had been widely seen as his choice as successor. Since his ouster, Mubarak and his family have been under house arrest at a presidential palace in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, their assets frozen.

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