The Taliban yesterday vowed revenge after a US soldier allegedly shot to death 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan and burned their bodies, an attack that has fueled anger still simmering after US troops burned Korans last month.
US-led forces in Afghanistan have stepped up security following the shootings on Sunday in Kandahar Province out of concern about retaliatory attacks. The US embassy has also warned US citizens in Afghanistan about the possibility of reprisals.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for several attacks last month that the group said were retaliation for the Americans burning Korans. Afghan forces also turned their guns on their supposed allies at the time, killing six US troops as violent protests wracked the country.
It’s unclear whether there will be a similar response to Sunday’s shootings, but the attack will likely spark even greater distrust between Washington and Kabul and fuel questions in both countries about why US troops are still fighting in Afghanistan after 10 years of conflict and the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The Taliban said in a statement on their Web site that “sick-minded American savages” committed the “blood-soaked and inhumane crime” in Panjwai District, a rural region outside Kandahar that is the cradle of the Taliban and where coalition forces have fought for control for years.
The group promised the families of the victims that it would take revenge “for every single martyr with the help of Allah.”
There are still many questions about what happened in the two villages before dawn Sunday.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and said the 16 dead included nine children and three women. Five more villagers were wounded.
“This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven,” Karzai said.
US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings yesterday confirmed that the number of dead was “in the teens,” but declined to be more specific, saying US forces had not been given access to independently count the bodies.
US and Afghan officials have said the attack began around 3am in the two villages, which are fairly close to a US base.
Villagers described how they cowered in fear as gunshots rang out while the soldier roamed from house to house firing on those inside. They said he entered three homes in all and set fire to some of the bodies. Eleven of the dead were from a single family.
The burning of the bodies may ignite even more outrage because it is seen as the desecration of corpses and therefore against Islam.
US officials said the shooter, identified as an army staff sergeant, acted alone after leaving his base. Initial reports indicated he returned to the base after the shooting and turned himself in. He was in custody at a NATO base.
Some Afghan officials and local villagers expressed doubt that a single US soldier could have carried out all the killings in houses about 2km apart and burned the bodies afterward.
US President Barack Obama phoned Karzai on Sunday to express his shock and sadness, and offered condolences to the grieving families.
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