Afghans want public trial of US soldier

Outrage over a murderous rampage by a rogue US soldier who killed 16 villagers gripped Afghanistan yesterday, as parliament called for a public trial and Taliban insurgents vowed revenge.

The US embassy issued fresh warnings to its citizens of possibly violent protests, while the latest setback in America’s longest war threatened negotiations with the Afghan government on its exit strategy.

The American, described by US officials as a staff sergeant who was married with three children and who had served three Iraq tours but was on his first Afghan deployment, walked off his base in southern Kandahar province and broke into three village homes before dawn on Sunday. He killed 16 people, including women and children — an event described by Afghan President Hamid Karzai as “unforgivable”.