The soldier, who apparently acted alone, abandoned his military base at 03:00 Am and headed to Alokozai village of the Panjawi district where he burned several houses, killed 16 innocent Afghans including women and children and wounded nine others, ISAF officials said.

The soldier was detained by the U.S. forces and it is not clear yet what was the motive behind the massacre of innocent Afghans. Lcal residents of the district said that a group of “drunk “U.S. soldiers stormed their houses and killed the people and animals.

The government of Afghanistan and the local administration of Kandahar denounced the massacre of Afghans by the U.S. soldiers and promised a deep investigation.

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai denounced the shooting incident in Kandahar province and called it an “intentional act against civilians.”

The Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Gen. John Allen expressed his condolence and sympathy and promised to cooperate with the Afghan authorities about the incident.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear of the shooting incident today in Kandahar province. I offer my profound regret and deepest condolence to the victims and their families. I pledge to all the noble people of Afghanistan my commitment to a rapid and thorough investigation.”

The United States Embassy in Kabul in press statement denounced the shooting incident and insisted on a long-term partnership with the Afghanistan for peace in the region.

“We are committed to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan to obtain greater peace and security in the region, which is our common interest. We deplore any attacks by a member of the U.S. Armed forces against innocent civilians."

It is the first time of civilians’ massacre by the American forces since the war began in 2001.

According to the United Nations office, last year nearly 3,000 Afghan civilians were killed in clashes between the Taliban and the ISAF forces in Afghanistan.  

Civilian casualties remains a hot topic in Afghanistan and despite the efforts made by Human rights organizations and international community, both Taliban and the NATO forces are continuing to kill the Afghan civilians. 

Photo: BBC