Afghan massacre families get US compensation

The US has paid $50,000 (€37,687) in compensation for each Afghan killed and $11,000 for each person wounded in the shooting spree allegedly committed by a US soldier in southern Afghanistan, an official and a community elder in the country said yesterday.

The sums are much larger than typical payments made by the US to families of civilians killed in military operations in Afghanistan.

Army staff sergeant Robert Bales is accused of sneaking off his base on Mar 11, then creeping into houses in two nearby villages and opening fire on families as they slept.