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Afghan massacre: Relatives berate President Karzai Afghanistan massacre: Hamid Karzai chides US on probe
(about 2 hours later)
Relatives of 16 Afghan civilians killed by a US soldier on Sunday have demanded answers from President Hamid Karzai. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the US of not fully co-operating with a probe into the massacre of 16 civilians by an American serviceman.
"We don't care about money we want justice," one villager from Kandahar province told him in Kabul. The soldier accused of the killings is on his way to the US from Kuwait, where he was being held, his lawyer says.
Some of the villagers also said there had been more than one gunman, a claim that has repeatedly contradicted the official version since Sunday. Afghan MPs had demanded the soldier be tried in public in Afghanistan.
The soldier accused of the killings has been flown out of Afghanistan and is expected to face trial in the US. Mr Karzai earlier met relatives of the dead, who demanded justice over the killings.
Meanwhile, a Nato helicopter carrying Turkish troops has crashed into a house on the outskirts of the capital Kabul, killing at least 12 soldiers and two children on the ground. Men, women and children were shot and killed at close range as the US soldier apparently went on a rampage in villages close to a Nato base in the remote Panjwai district of southern Afghanistan.
The death toll is the heaviest single loss of life so far for Turkish troops in Afghanistan, of whom there are currently more than 1,800. President Karzai told reporters that the chief of the official investigation into those killings had not received the co-operation it expected from the US.
Police told the BBC a technical fault was to blame. He also said the problem of civilian casualties at the hands of Nato forces had "gone on for too long"
Sunday's shootings have placed new strains on the US in Afghanistan. "This is by all means the end of the rope here," Mr Karzai said.
The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of the deadly rampage - in which men, women and children were shot and killed at close range - although they made no mention of the massacre in the statement. On Wednesday Mr Karzai told the US that it must pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead, in an effort to reduce such civilian deaths.
However, the US later stressed it remained committed to Afghan reconciliation despite the move by the Taliban. The Taliban also called off peace talks in the wake of the killings although they made no mention of the massacre in its statement.
Mr Karzai has also told the US that it must pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead, in an effort to reduce civilian deaths. Relatives' anguish
'No answers' Earlier the president met relatives of those who had been killed last Sunday. The assembled villagers berated him and urged him to seek justice.
Some of the villagers believe there was more than one gunman, an allegation that has repeatedly contradicted the official version since Sunday when the shootings took place. He assured villagers that he would pursue that allegation.
President Karzai listened as surviving family members from the Kandahar massacre gave their versions of the murders during a meeting in a grand hall in the presidential palace.President Karzai listened as surviving family members from the Kandahar massacre gave their versions of the murders during a meeting in a grand hall in the presidential palace.
Some said only one killer had been involved, others that many US soldiers had carried out the attack in the early hours of Sunday. The dead included nine children.
"Why did this happen?" demanded one man who lost nine members of his family. "Do you have answers, Mr President?""Why did this happen?" demanded one man who lost nine members of his family. "Do you have answers, Mr President?"
"No, I do not," responded a tired-looking Mr Karzai."No, I do not," responded a tired-looking Mr Karzai.
The president described US co-operation over the massacre as poor, reports say. Some details about the alleged killer also emerged from a lawyer who said he represented him.
He also told villagers he would take up their claims that more than one soldier had killed the villagers. John Henry Browne said the soldier - who has not been named - had received body and brain injuries while serving in Iraq and was unhappy about going for another tour of duty.
The soldier accused of the killings is at a US base in Kuwait and is expected to be taken to the US, possibly on Friday.
Afghans had demanded he face justice in their country.
Earlier some of the first details about him emerged.
US lawyer John Henry Browne said the soldier - who has not been named - had received body and brain injuries while serving in Iraq and was unhappy about going for another tour of duty.
Speaking in Seattle, where the accused soldier is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Mr Browne denied reports that the accused had problems either with alcohol or his marriage.Speaking in Seattle, where the accused soldier is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Mr Browne denied reports that the accused had problems either with alcohol or his marriage.
Earlier on Friday, a Nato helicopter carrying Turkish troops crashed into a house on the outskirts of the capital Kabul, killing at least 12 soldiers and two children on the ground.
The death toll is the heaviest single loss of life so far for Turkish troops in Afghanistan, of whom there are currently more than 1,800.
Police told the BBC a technical fault was to blame.
Despite the recent string of setbacks, such as the suspension of peace talks by the Taliban, the US has stressed that it remains committed to Afghan reconciliation.