Twenty US soldiers involved in Kandahar killings

The committee or fact-finding mission has been set up by the Afghan Parliament to investigate the killing of at least 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar’s Panjwayi district.

According to the head of the mission, after probing the circumstances and speaking to witnesses and locals, it was concluded that the crime could not have been committed by a single soldier.

Seyed Ishaq Gilani also said that local religious and tribal elders said there was more than one soldier involved.

This is while the US military insists that only one soldier was involved in the massacre.

On Sunday, a US soldier opened fire on Afghan civilians inside their homes, killing at least 16 and injuring several others in the town of Panjwaii.

Kandahar tribal leaders called on the Afghan government and the international community to carry out an investigation into the crime and put the perpetrators of the heinous act on trial in an Afghan court.

Afghan lawmakers have also called for a public trial of the US troops involved in the massacre.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban have vowed revenge against the US forces.