• US paid close to $50,000 per shooting spree death, American official tells NBC

    By NBC News and news services

    Updated at 11 a.m. ET: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The United States paid close to $50,000 in compensation for each Afghan killed in the shooting spree attributed to a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official told NBC News on Sunday.

    The official, who asked not to be named, would not say exactly how much was paid to the families, but added the amount was close to the $50,000 reported by Afghan officials.

    "The amount reflects the extraordinarily devastating nature of the incident," he said.

    Average annual income in Afghanistan is $425, according to the BBC.

    U.S. officials paid $50,000 to the Afghan families of the dead. Meantime, Karilyn Bales tells Today's Matt Lauer that her husband "is like a big kid." NBC's John Yang reports.

    Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of sneaking out of his base before dawn on March 11 then creeping into the houses of two nearby villages and opening fire on sleeping families within. The U.S. military has charged Bales with 17 murders.

    Bales charged with 17 counts of murder in Afghanistan massacre

    The 38-year-old soldier is accused of using his 9mm pistol and M-4 rifle, which was outfitted with a grenade launcher, to kill four men, four women, two boys and seven girls, then burning some of the bodies.

    The Associated Press earlier reported that the families of the dead received $50,000 for each person killed on Saturday at the governor's office, citing Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai.

    Agha Lalai told the AP that each wounded person has received $11,000 and that they were told the money was from U.S. President Barack Obama. Community elder Jan Agha has confirmed the same figures.

    The defense attorney for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the soldier charged Friday with 17 counts of murder, has said the military lacks much of the physical evidence necessary to establish a solid case against his client. But prosecutors say there is ample evidence: surveillance video, shell casings and more. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

    US officials: Soldier split Afghan massacre in two

    The American official who handed over the money said it was not compensation, but the U.S. government offering to help the victims and their families, Kandahar provincial council member Haji Nyamat Khan said.

    But a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Col. Gary Kolb, said the money was compensation.

    NBC's Atia Abawi, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Afghanistan's President Karzai: Get US troops out of our villages

    The President of Afghanistan is asking the U.S. to hand over all security responsibilities by 2013. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

    Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET: Afghanistan's president on Thursday called for U.S. and other foreign forces in Afghanistan to leave villages in the country and move to larger bases instead, according to Hamid Karzai's office.

    In a statement -- which comes amid the ongoing controversy over the killing of 16 Afghan civilians in Panjwai, Kandahar province, allegedly by a lone U.S. soldier -- Karzai's office said he had made the request to U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and said that "Afghan Security forces currently have the ability to secure the villages around the country."

    The statement also said that NATO-led foreign forces needed to have "complete respect for their religion and the Afghan culture. No foreign troops should enter Afghans homes. And they should pay more attention on reconstruction and financial support for our country."

    The American soldier accused of gunning down 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, has been flown out of Afghanistan to Kuwait. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    "Karzai said that both sides should work on accelerating the process and that they should hand over all the security responsibilities in 2013 instead of 2014," it added.

    "We demand that the process move quickly and they transfer authority into Afghan hands," it added.

    In a near-simultaneous announcement, the Afghan Taliban said it was suspending nascent peace talks with the United States seen as a strong chance to end the country's decade-long conflict, blaming "shaky, erratic and vague" U.S. statements.

    The White House denied Taliban accusations and insisted that Washington had been consistent in its message.

    "We support an Afghan-led process toward reconciliation. There is no likely resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan without a political resolution," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

    At the State Department, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. is still "prepared to continue these discussions," but will "have to see where this goes now," NBC News reported. "We still feel that if there is a process that can be supported that we ought to do that ... Our only goal is to get Afghans to sit down together," she said.

    Nuland said the process so far has had a "lot of ups and downs."

    Scott Olson / Getty Images

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visits with troops on Wednesday at Forward Operating Base Shukvani, Afghanistan.

    Gavin Sundwall, U.S. Embassy spokesman in Kabul, echoed the comments, NBC News said.

    On Karzai’s statement, he also said, “The transition to Afghan security lead is already under way,” NBC News reported. “About half of all Afghans currently live in areas where Afghan security forces are taking responsibility.”

    He said NATO will decide the next phase of transition including the shift of coalition forces to a support role in 2013.

    'Cruel and brutal'
    The announcement from Karzai's office said Panetta had "once again paid his condolences to the Afghan President and to the people of Afghanistan on the behalf of his government and his people for the Panjwai incident."

    Karzai described the killings of the 16 people, including women and children, as "a cruel and brutal action."

    In this extended interview, British Prime Minister David Cameron talks to NBC's Brian Williams about Iran, Afghanistan, the 2012 Olympics, the "special relationship" with the United States and whether or not he has danced around like Hugh Grant's character in "Love Actually."

    "The President also added that this incident has lost their trust with Afghans," the statement said.

    The soldier accused of carrying out the Panjwai shooting was based at a small special forces compound similar to others around the country that underpin NATO's counter-insurgency strategy.

    Soldier accused in Afghan massacre flown out of country

    The killings on Sunday have raised questions about Western strategy in Afghanistan and intensified calls for the withdrawal of foreign combat troops.

    NYT: An Afghan elder comes home to find a massacre

    Panetta discussed the massacre with Karzai at his heavily guarded palace and faced demands from the Afghan leader that any trial be transparent.

    "I assured him first and foremost that I shared his regrets about what took place. I again pledged to him that we are proceeding with a full investigation here and that we will bring the individual involved to justice. He accepted that," Panetta told reporters before leaving Afghanistan.

    It appears highly unlikely that the staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians will be returned to Afghanistan for court martial. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

    Taliban suspends peace talks
    The Afghan Taliban, which describes itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said it had decided to suspend peace talks after opening a diplomatic office in Qatar earlier this year to enable talks to go ahead.

    Obama, Cameron stand in united front

    "It seems that the invading Americans and their stooge regime took advantage of these measures of Islamic Emirate and sought to achieve other malicious objectives and therefore are postponing the core issues and are wasting time," the Taliban said.

    "So the Islamic Emirate has decided to suspend all talks with Americans taking place in Qatar from today onwards until the Americans clarify their stance on the issues concerned and until they show willingness in carrying out their promises instead of wasting time," it added.

    Marines asked to disarm before Panetta speech

    The austere Islamist movement said it was fully prepared to continue its "long-term Jihadi strategies" as the traditional summer fighting months approached, following a harsh winter which had dulled fighting in several volatile provinces.

    In the latest attack, a roadside bomb killed 13 Afghan civilians, including women and children, and wounded two on Thursday in the south of the country, provincial officials said.

    More than 3,000 civilians were killed in the war in Afghanistan in 2011, the fifth year in a row the number has risen, according to the United Nations.

    NBC News and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • In 'highly unusual' move, Marines asked to disarm before Leon Panetta speech

    Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's message to troops Wednesday was to stay the course. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    By NBC News and msnbc.com staff

    In a highly unusual move, around 200 U.S. Marines were asked to leave their weapons outside the tent where U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was set to speak during his trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday.

    Although the military said the order was not given in response to Sunday's shooting of 16 Afghan civilians allegedly by an American soldier, it possibly underlined how high tensions were running after the incident.

    "You've got one of the most important people in the world in the room," Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus told reporters at Camp Leatherneck, dismissing concerns related to the shooting. "This is not a big deal."

    He said he had given the order because the two dozen Afghan soldiers also there were unarmed and he did not want to treat them differently.

    Chris Turner / Pool

    Troops stacking guns at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan before the arrival of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday.

    Among those killed Sunday were nine children, and some of the bodies were reportedly burned. The suspect, who hasn't been named, is in U.S. custody.

    According to reporters at Camp Leatherneck, the Marines were waiting to hear Panetta's speech when they were abruptly told by their commander to get up, leave their weapons, including M16 and M-4 automatic rifles and 9 mm pistols, outside and return unarmed.

    "All I know is I was told to get the weapons out," Sergeant Major Brandon Hall told The New York Times. Asked why, he replied, "Somebody got itchy, that's all I've got to say. Somebody got itchy; we just adjust."

    Hall said he was acting on orders from superiors, the Times reported.

    Just days after an Army staff sergeant allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians in a shooting rampage, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Afghanistan to meet with government officials and U.S. troops. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    'Sends the wrong message'
    Military officials in Washington told NBC News' chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski that the decision to disarm the Marines was indeed significant.

    Panetta: Village massacre won't deter US mission

    "It sends the wrong message" that Marines can't be trusted in the presence of the secretary of defense," one told him.

    U.S. officials told Marines to leave a tent and disarm themselves before re-entering for a meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. NBC's Atia Abawi and Jim Miklaszewski report.

    According to one official the decision was "stupid."

    Miklaszewski also told NBC's Chuck Todd Wednesday that the move was "highly unusual" and that Marines in combat zones are always supposed to have weapons within their reach.

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    NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

  • Obama: Killing Afghans as serious as killing Americans

    The Obama administration is in a difficult position after the latest incidents in Afghanistan. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    By msnbc.com and news services

     WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday said he viewed the killing of 16 Afghan civilians, allegedly by a U.S. soldier, as seriously as if those killed had been Americans.

    "The U.S. takes this as seriously as if it were our own citizens and our own children who were murdered," Obama said at the White House.

    Obama said he was directing the Pentagon to do a very thorough investigation of the weekend killings. He said the inquiry would "follow the facts" wherever they lead, and that anyone found responsible would be prosecuted fully. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the death penalty is possible if the soldier is convicted.

    Obama's message was aimed at Afghans and at Americans for whom the killings were a reminder that tens of thousands of U.S. forces are fighting in Afghanistan more than 10 years after the war began.

    Obama insisted that the killings will not change U.S. commitment to finishing the job in Afghanistan, but he was clearly trying to reassure Americans that he will close out the war.

    "Make no mistake, we have a strategy that will allow us to responsibly wind down this war," Obama said.

    Reuters

    Graphic of Afghanistan civilian casualties

    "We're steadily transitioning to the Afghans who are moving into the lead. And that's going to allow us to bring our troops home."

    He repeated the timetable for bringing forces home that he had already laid out: 23,000 troops by the end of this summer, on top of 10,000 removed last year. He did not give a schedule for withdrawal of the approximately 68,000 U.S. forces that will remain in Afghanistan at the end of this year.

    The U.S. and NATO allies agreed more than a year ago to leave forces in Afghanistan through 2014. There is political pressure in Europe, and increasingly in the United States, to speed up that deadline.

    "There's no question that we face a difficult challenge in Afghanistan, but I am confident that we can continue the work of meeting our objectives, protecting our country and responsibly bringing this war to a close," Obama said.

    Earlier Tuesday thousands of people took to the streets in eastern Afghanistan to protest the killings, burning an effigy of Obama and calling for the killer to be tried in Afghanistan.

    Demonstrators in the city of Jalalabad chanted "Death to America -- Death to Obama" and blocked the main highway to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.

    Noorullah Shirzada / AFP - Getty Images

    Protestors shout anti-American slogans during a demonstration in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, on Tuesday.

    "Jihad (holy war) is the only way to get the invading Americans out of Afghanistan," one banner read, according to the newspaper.

    The demonstrators also demanded that President Hamid Karzai reject plans to sign a strategic pact with Washington that would allow U.S. advisers and possibly special forces to remain beyond a 2014 deadline for foreign combat troops to leave Afghanistan.

    Meanwhile, militants attacked an Afghan government delegation that was visiting the site of the killings, the BBC reported.

    "I can confirm that the Taliban have launched an attack from several directions against a government delegation," a senior official told the BBC. "At this stage, our forces are returning fire.''

    Nine children and three women were among those killed in the massacre. According to reports, a 38-year-old staff sergeant had left his base in Panjwai district early on Sunday and broke into the victim's homes. Some of the bodies were burned.

    The recent killings have brought great sadness to Afghanistan, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called the killings 'unforgiveable.' NBC's Atia Abawi reports.

    The soldier had no history of behavioral problems but had been treated for traumatic brain injury after a previous deployment to Iraq, senior U.S. defense officials told NBC News.

    U.S. officials rushed to draw a line between the shooting over the weekend and ongoing efforts of a U.S. force of around 90,000, and have been bracing themselves for reprisals as Afghans weary of the decade-old Western military presence vent their anger.

    The Afghan Taliban threatened on Tuesday to behead U.S. troops in revenge for the massacre.

    Taliban vows 'revenge' after US soldier kills 16 civilans in Afghanistan

    "The Islamic Emirate once again warns the American animals that the mujahedeen will avenge them, and with the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement, using the term with which the Islamist group describes itself.

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    Msnbc.com staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • Mourning, anger sweep Afghanistan after massacre

    The Taliban have called for revenge after a 38-year-old U.S. staff sergeant allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians, nine of them children, and then burned many of the bodies. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

    By msnbc.com and news services

    Afghanistan's parliament on Monday condemned the massacre of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier, with some legislators calling on President Hamid Karzai to step down.

    "The Wolesi Jirga (parliament) announces that once again Afghans have run out of patience with the arbitrary actions of foreign forces," the parliament said in a statement.

    The country's lower house of parliament closed in protest on Monday and some legislators called for President Hamid Karzai and his vice president to resign if they couldn't ensure security for ordinary Afghans, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

    Taliban vow 'revenge' after US soldier kills 16 Afghan civilians

    Legislator Hamidzai Lalai rejected American and NATO claims that only one person was involved in the killings as they occured over two miles away from the military base, Pajhwok reported.  Besides, the attacker returned to this base after the incident, he said, according to the news service.

    Contrary to legislator's claims, however, BBC News reported that the villages were just 500 yards from the base.

    Reports of the attack vary. U.S. officials maintain only one soldier was involved, while villagers and other Afghans said it was a group of soldiers. But  the Obama administration vowed a rapid investigation and promised to hold whoever was behind the violence fully responsible.

    The recent killings have brought great sadness to Afghanistan, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called the killings 'unforgiveable.' NBC's Atia Abawi reports.

    The soldier suspected of being responsible has been detained but has yet to be identified. However, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to NBC News that he is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma, Wash.

    Report: Suspect is Iraq veteran with 2 kids

    A resident of Panjwai Abdul Samad told BBC News that the community already lived under virtual curfew before the attack that left 16 dead, including nine children.

    "We have been restricted by the government and Taliban not to move around during the night," he reportedly said.

    It had already been a restive night before the attack and aircraft were heard overhead at around midnight, Samad said. At some time between 01:00 a.m.  (4:30 p.m. ET) and 01:30 a.m. Samad said he heard the sound of helicopters and gunfire, according to the BBC. 

    A female eyewitness told the BBC she heard gunshots at 02:00 a.m.

    An American staff sergeant is in custody after allegedly killing 16 civilians, including nine children, in a shooting spree in Afghanistan. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    By Monday, villagers had largely buried their dead within hours of the attack, in line with Islamic custom, The Los Angeles Times reported.

    Mourners also staged processions and ceremonies Monday, the chief of police in Panjwai district Sardar Mohammad Nazari told the newspaper.

    He and other community leaders asked for calm.

    "We asked the people to show restraint and then sent them back to their homes," he told the newspaper.

    Msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Retired General Barry McCaffrey, an NBC News military analyst, talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer about what could have possibly driven a U.S. soldier to killed 16 civilians, including nine children, in Afghanistan.

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