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American soldier has a 'breakdown' and shoots nine children dead in their sleep in house-to-house shooting rampage in Afghanistan that killed 16 civilians
U.S. soldier allegedly went into three homes early this morning and shot dead 16 people after 'suffering mental breakdown'
Nine children and three women among those reported dead
Relative said he 'poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them'
Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned shootings as 'assassination'
Attack could deepen strife and comes weeks after outrage over Koran burning at NATO base left at least 30 dead
Afghan Taliban said in email they are likely to retaliate
By BETH STEBNER
PUBLISHED: 13:54 GMT, 11 March 2012 | UPDATED: 17:45 GMT, 11 March 2012
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Sixteen innocent Afghan civilians - including nine children and three women - were shot and killed by a rogue U.S. soldier who opened fire after suffering a 'mental breakdown' early this morning.
The soldier reportedly entered three Afghan familys homes around 3am this morning and opened fire on his victims in the killing spree. A relative of the deceased added that he then 'poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them.'
The U.S service member is said to have surrendered to U.S. military authorities after entering the three homes, and is currently in their custody. Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks as 'an assassination' and demanded an explanation from the U.S.
The attack could deepen strife between the two countries, as it comes weeks after NATO soldiers burned copies of the Koran - the Muslim holy book - sparking a violent protest that left some 30 people dead.
Tears of grief: An Afghan youth mourns for his relatives, who were allegedly killed by the U.S. service member
An Associated Press photographer reported that he saw 15 bodies of Afghans - some of them burned and some covered with blankets - in the villages of Alkozai and Balandi in Kandahar province's Panjwai district. The villages are in close proximity to a U.S. base.
NATO forces have detained the U.S. service member who is accused of going on a shooting spree in the villages. A NATO spokesman has confirmed multiple people wounded but has not confirmed any deaths.
'They (Americans) poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them,' a weeping Mr Samad told Reuters at the scene.
Another accused the U.S. soldier of burning the bodies after he shot them, Reuters reported.
According to Al Jazeera, the soldier went into three separate houses around three oclock this morning when it was pitch black and shot the civilians, who were sleeping in their beds.
Beyond tears: A grieving Afghan sits in a van next to one of the bodies (left) while another man sits in a truck bed keeping watch over the body of a young boy
A resident of Alkozai, where the shootings took place, told an AP reporter that 16 people were killed as the U.S. service member went into three different houses and started shooting.
The villager, Abdul Baqi, said he had not seen the bodies himself, but had talked to the family members of the dead.
When it was happening in the middle of the night we were inside our houses. I heard gunshots and then silence and then gunshots again, Mr Baqi said.
Reports say that 15 members from two Afghan families were slaughtered, as well as an unidentified sixteenth person.
NATO spokesman Justin Brockhoff said a U.S. service member had been detained as the alleged shooter and that the coalition had reports of multiple wounded, but none killed. The wounded were evacuated to NATO medical facilities, he said.
Maj. Jason Waggoner, another spokesman for ISAF said: The civilian casualties were not the result of any operations. The soldier was acting on his own. After the incident, he returned to the compound and turned himself in.
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force deputy commander Lt Gen Andrian Bradshaw would not speculate the reasoning behind the seemingly random attack.
Mr Karzai said in a statement that he was sending high-level authorities to investigate the shooting and deliver a full report. NATO officials, too, are conducting an inquiry.
TENSIONS RISING BETWEEN U.S. AND AFGHANISTAN
The attack by the so-called rogue U.S. soldier is the latest in a string of tension points between the two countries. Last month, violent protests erupted after U.S. troops burned copies of the Koran in Kabul; more than 30 were killed. In January, a video seeming to depict Marines urinating on dead Afghans went viral. Both U.S. and UN officials called it disgusting and inhuman.
Also in January, a report said that at least 58 Western troops were killed by Afghan soldiers between May 2007 to May 2011, showing deep distrust between Afghan soldiers and their supposed western allies.
This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven, Mr Karzai said in a statement, adding that he has repeatedly called for the U.S. to stop killing Afghan citizens.
President Obama was briefed on the shootings earlier today.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement: We are deeply concerned by the initial reports of this incident, and are monitoring the situation closely.
On CBS Face the Nation, Newt Gingrich commented on the escalating tensions in Afghanistan and elsewhere, saying: I think that we have to reassess the entire region, noting Washingtons tumultuous relationship with neighbouring Pakistan as well.
Twelve of the dead were from Balandi, said Samad Khan, a farmer who lost all 11 members of his family, including women and children.
Mr Khan was away from the village when the incident occurred and returned to find his family members shot and burned.
One of his neighbours was also killed, he said. It was unclear how or why the bodies were burned.
'This is an anti-human and anti-Islamic act,' said Mr Khan.
'Nobody is allowed in any religion in the world to kill children and women.'
Khan demanded that Karzai punish the American shooter.
'Otherwise we will make a decision,' said Khan. 'He should be handed over to us, he told the Associated Press.
I cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts, but they were in no way part of authorised ISAF military activity, he said in a statement.
There were reports of protests in Panjwai following the shooting and the U.S. embassy warned travellers in Kandahar province to exercise caution.
The Afghan Taliban would take revenge for the deaths, the group said in an e-mailed statement to media.
The shooting comes after weeks of tense relations between U.S. forces and their Afghan hosts following the burning of Qurans and other religious materials at an American base.
Though U.S. officials apologized and said the burning was an accident, the incident sparked violent protests and attacks that killed some 30 people.
Six U.S. troops have been killed in attacks by their Afghan colleagues since the Quran burnings came to light.
In the capital, meanwhile, Mr Karzai said the government still expects to sign a strategic partnership agreement with the United States by the time a NATO summit convenes in Chicago in May.
The agreement would formalize the U.S.-Afghan relationship and the role of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after NATO's scheduled transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan government at the end of 2014.
But Mr Karzai stressed the importance of foreign forces leaving Afghanistan to preserve the country's national sovereignty.
Any international forces that remain after 2014 would have to operate under strict guidelines governing their responsibilities and when they could leave their bases, he said.
We have a strong army and police, so it is to our benefit to have good relations with the international community, not have international troops in our country, Karzai said at a public event in Kabul.
The president has demanded that international forces stop night raids on the homes of suspected militants as a condition to signing the strategic partnership agreement.
The raids have caused widespread anger among Afghans.
All foreign combat troops are slated to withdraw by end of 2014 from a costly war that has become increasingly unpopular.