Afghanistan massacre: Taleban vow revenge amid increased security concerns

It follows growing anger after US troops burned the Koran last month.

US-led forces in Afghanistan have stepped up security following yesterday’s shootings in Kandahar province out of concern about revenge attacks. The US embassy has also warned American citizens in Afghanistan about the possibility of reprisals.

The Taleban claimed responsibility for several attacks last month that the group said were retaliation for the Americans burning the Koran.

Afghan forces also turned their guns on their supposed allies, killing six US troops as violent protests took place across the country.

It is unclear whether there will be a similar response to yesterday’s shootings, but the attack will probably result in even greater distrust between Washington and Kabul.

It could also fuel questions in both countries about why American troops are still fighting in Afghanistan after 10 years of conflict and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Taleban said in a statement on its website that “sick-minded American savages” committed the “blood-soaked and inhumane crime” in two villages 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 militant group promised the families of the victims that it would take revenge “for every single martyr with the help of Allah”.

The US said the shootings in two villages were carried out by a single American soldier, who is now in custody. But Afghans have expressed doubt that a single soldier could have carried out the shootings in houses more than a mile apart.

According to US and Afghan officials, yesterday’s attack began at around 3am.

The villages are about 500 yards from a US base in a region that was the focus of US president Barack Obama’s military surge strategy in the south that started in 2009.

Villagers described cowering in fear as a soldier roamed from house to house firing on those inside.

They said he entered three homes and set fire to some of the bodies. Eleven of the dead were from a single family, and nine of the victims were children.

US officials said the gunman, identified as an army staff sergeant, acted alone, leaving his base in southern Afghanistan and opening fire on sleeping families in two villages.

Initial reports indicated he returned to the base after the shooting and turned himself in. He was in custody at a Nato base in Afghanistan.

The suspect, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, was assigned to support a special operations unit of either green berets or navy Seals engaged in a village stability operation, a US official said.

Such operations are among Nato’s best hopes for getting out of Afghanistan, pairing special operations troops with villagers chosen by village elders to become essentially a sanctioned, armed neighbourhood watch.

Some residents said they believed there were multiple attackers.

“One man can’t kill so many people. There must have been many people involved,” Bacha Agha of Balandi village said.

“If the government says this is just one person’s act, we will not accept it ... After killing those people they also burned the bodies.”

In a statement, Afghan president Hamid Karzai left open the possibility of more than one gunman.