US Soldiers Execute 16 Afghans, Including 9 Children

Local Editor

US forces opened fire on Afghan civilians inside their homes in the district of Panjawaii on Sunday, killing at least 17 civilians, among which 9 were children.
Several others were also injured in the attack on the district located in the southern province of Kandahar. According to eye witnesses, at least 50 people were killed in the massacre.

Afghan eyewitnesses said US troopers have burnt nearly a dozen bodies of the Afghan victims.

According the UPI news agency, the US troopers gathered 11 bodies, including those of four girls younger than 6, and set fire to them, villagers said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the bloodshed, calling it an inhuman, intentional, and unforgiveable act.

"When Afghan people are killed deliberately by US forces, this action is murder and terror and an unforgivable action," Karzai said in a statement.

"The government and the people of Afghanistan demand an explanation from the United States government of this incident."
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have been a major source of tension between Kabul and Washington. 

The outrages came in the wake of violent clashes in several Afghan provinces over recent desecration of the Holy Qur'an by the United States forces at the US-run Bagram Airbase in the province of Parwan in northeastern Afghanistan.
The violence left over 30 people, including six American forces, dead and around 180 others injured. 

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan was launched in 2001. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence there of tens of thousands of US-led troops. 

Source: News Agencies, edited by moqawama.org