U.S. Soldier Has A Mental Breakdown And Kills 16 Afghan Civilians

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 Army staff sergeant reportedly entered three Afghan family’s 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.

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 yet confirmed any deaths.

‘The incident happened. There are
some people killed, some wounded. But I don’t have details,’ the
spokesman said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.
One man told the AFP news agency of his great loss. ‘Eleven members of my family are dead. They are all dead,’ Haji Samad said.

'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
o’clock local time this morning when it was pitch black and shot the
civilians, who were sleeping in their beds.

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.

Mr Karzai also said that five people were wounded. Their conditions are unknown.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta called the Afghan president to express ‘profound
regret’ and assure him that ‘this terrible incident does not reflect
our shared values or the progress we have made together,’ his office
said in a statement.

He concluded: ‘We will bring those responsible to justice.’

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.

‘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 issued a statement this afternoon saying he is ‘deeply saddened’
by the ‘tragic and shocking’ killing of Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier.

He said: ‘This incident is tragic and shocking and does not represent the
exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United
States has for the people of Afghanistan.’

The president also vowed to ‘get the facts as quickly as possible and to hold accountable anyone responsible.’

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.’

There are precious few details on the alleged shooter. Officials have only
said that he was an Army staff sergeant who was acting alone.

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 Washington’s 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 set ablaze.

To prove that the bodies had been set on fire, Afghan villagers brought
out badly burned blankets, the New York Times reported. More than 300
people came out to protest the senseless violence.

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