US compensation for families of Afghans killed in shooting spree
Source: Agencies |
March 26, 2012, Monday
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THE United States has paid US$50,000 compensation for each Afghan killed in the shooting spree attributed to an American soldier in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official and a community elder said yesterday.
The families of the dead received the money on Saturday at the governor's office, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. Each wounded person received US$11,000, Lalai said. Community elder Jan Agha confirmed the figures.
They were told the money came from US President Barack Obama, Lalai said.
A US official confirmed that compensation had been paid but declined to discuss amounts, saying only that it reflected the devastating nature of the incident.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is accused of sneaking out of his base before dawn on March 11 then creeping into the houses of two nearby villages and opening fire on sleeping families within.
It was not immediately clear how much money had been paid out in all. Afghan officials and villagers have counted 16 dead - 12 in Balandi and four in neighboring Alkozai - and six wounded. The US military has charged Bales with 17 murders, without explaining the discrepancy.
The 38-year-old soldier is accused of using his 9mm pistol and M4 rifle, which was fitted with a grenade launcher, to kill four men, four women, two boys and seven girls, then burning some of the bodies. The ages of the children were not disclosed in the charge sheet.
The families had previously received smaller compensation payments from Afghan officials.
Also yesterday, officials said a bomb exploded in the south of the country as a foot patrol of Afghan and NATO forces was passing by the previous day, killing nine Afghans and one international service member.
The group was patrolling through Arghandab district in Kandahar province late on Saturday when it was caught in the blast. Arghandab is a farming region just outside Kandahar city that has long been a Taliban area.
The families of the dead received the money on Saturday at the governor's office, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. Each wounded person received US$11,000, Lalai said. Community elder Jan Agha confirmed the figures.
They were told the money came from US President Barack Obama, Lalai said.
A US official confirmed that compensation had been paid but declined to discuss amounts, saying only that it reflected the devastating nature of the incident.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is accused of sneaking out of his base before dawn on March 11 then creeping into the houses of two nearby villages and opening fire on sleeping families within.
It was not immediately clear how much money had been paid out in all. Afghan officials and villagers have counted 16 dead - 12 in Balandi and four in neighboring Alkozai - and six wounded. The US military has charged Bales with 17 murders, without explaining the discrepancy.
The 38-year-old soldier is accused of using his 9mm pistol and M4 rifle, which was fitted with a grenade launcher, to kill four men, four women, two boys and seven girls, then burning some of the bodies. The ages of the children were not disclosed in the charge sheet.
The families had previously received smaller compensation payments from Afghan officials.
Also yesterday, officials said a bomb exploded in the south of the country as a foot patrol of Afghan and NATO forces was passing by the previous day, killing nine Afghans and one international service member.
The group was patrolling through Arghandab district in Kandahar province late on Saturday when it was caught in the blast. Arghandab is a farming region just outside Kandahar city that has long been a Taliban area.
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