Afghan delegation attacked at site of US killings horror
Source: Agencies |
March 14, 2012, Wednesday
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SECONDS after the Afghan president's brothers stepped outside the village mosque where they had been attending a memorial ceremony for 16 civilians allegedly killed by a US soldier, the Taliban opened fire.
An Afghan army soldier protecting the two men - part of a high-level government delegation on a visit yesterday to one of the two villages where the killings took place - was shot in the head and died almost instantly.
The visitors escaped in their cars unharmed, but two other Afghan army personnel were wounded in the 20-minute gun battle that followed.
The ambush in the southern province of Kandahar came as images of the aftermath of Sunday's killings spread across Afghanistan, and public reaction began to build.
Nine of the 16 civilians killed on Sunday were children and three were women. Some of their bodies were burned after they were killed.
In the east, students staged the first significant protest in response to the killings, raising concerns about a repeat of the wave of violent demonstrations that rocked the nation after last month's burning of Qurans by troops at a US base.
Taliban attack
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack on the delegation in Balandi village in Panjwai district, an area considered the birthplace of the militant group. Previously, the movement had vowed to behead those responsible for Sunday's shootings.
A US Army staff sergeant is in custody following the pre-dawn killings in Balandi and the neighboring village of Alkozai. His name has not been released.
Villagers described him stalking from house to house in the middle of the night, opening fire on sleeping families and then burning some of the dead bodies.
Witnesses described only one shooter, and US officials have been adamant there was only one soldier involved.
But yesterday, villagers who testified to the government delegation insisted there were two soldiers, citing relatives who survived the attacks.
Two soldiers
Mohammad Wazir, who was away from his home in Balandi village that night, said his sister saw two soldiers enter the house and start shooting. Everyone started running in different directions, and she ran to the kitchen to hide. When the gunfire ended and she re-emerged, 11 of her relatives were dead.
In Alkozai to the south, a man named Sayed Jan said his cousins told him they saw two soldiers come into his house and start firing. Jan's relatives barricaded their door and snuck out another exit. Jan was in Kandahar city that night.
In the eastern city of Jalalabad, meanwhile, about 2,000 students staged the first significant protest in response to the tragedy, shouting angry slogans against the United States and the American attacker.
"Death to America!" and, "Death to the soldier who killed our civilians!" shouted the crowd.
Some carried a banner that called for a public trial of the soldier, who US officials have identified as a married, 38-year-old father of two. He was trained as a sniper and recently suffered a head injury in Iraq.
The soldier is being held in Kandahar while Army officials review his complete deployment and medical history, Pentagon officials said.
An Afghan army soldier protecting the two men - part of a high-level government delegation on a visit yesterday to one of the two villages where the killings took place - was shot in the head and died almost instantly.
The visitors escaped in their cars unharmed, but two other Afghan army personnel were wounded in the 20-minute gun battle that followed.
The ambush in the southern province of Kandahar came as images of the aftermath of Sunday's killings spread across Afghanistan, and public reaction began to build.
Nine of the 16 civilians killed on Sunday were children and three were women. Some of their bodies were burned after they were killed.
In the east, students staged the first significant protest in response to the killings, raising concerns about a repeat of the wave of violent demonstrations that rocked the nation after last month's burning of Qurans by troops at a US base.
Taliban attack
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack on the delegation in Balandi village in Panjwai district, an area considered the birthplace of the militant group. Previously, the movement had vowed to behead those responsible for Sunday's shootings.
A US Army staff sergeant is in custody following the pre-dawn killings in Balandi and the neighboring village of Alkozai. His name has not been released.
Villagers described him stalking from house to house in the middle of the night, opening fire on sleeping families and then burning some of the dead bodies.
Witnesses described only one shooter, and US officials have been adamant there was only one soldier involved.
But yesterday, villagers who testified to the government delegation insisted there were two soldiers, citing relatives who survived the attacks.
Two soldiers
Mohammad Wazir, who was away from his home in Balandi village that night, said his sister saw two soldiers enter the house and start shooting. Everyone started running in different directions, and she ran to the kitchen to hide. When the gunfire ended and she re-emerged, 11 of her relatives were dead.
In Alkozai to the south, a man named Sayed Jan said his cousins told him they saw two soldiers come into his house and start firing. Jan's relatives barricaded their door and snuck out another exit. Jan was in Kandahar city that night.
In the eastern city of Jalalabad, meanwhile, about 2,000 students staged the first significant protest in response to the tragedy, shouting angry slogans against the United States and the American attacker.
"Death to America!" and, "Death to the soldier who killed our civilians!" shouted the crowd.
Some carried a banner that called for a public trial of the soldier, who US officials have identified as a married, 38-year-old father of two. He was trained as a sniper and recently suffered a head injury in Iraq.
The soldier is being held in Kandahar while Army officials review his complete deployment and medical history, Pentagon officials said.
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