KABUL, Afghanistan – Hundreds of students in eastern Afghanistan held the first significant protest against a U.S. soldier who killed 16 Afghan civilians in a shooting spree, as the Taliban threatened to «behead» U.S. troops in retaliation for the incident.
The students shouted angry slogans on Tuesday against the soldier in the eastern city of Jalalabad and carried banners calling for his public trial.
Some of the protesters were constructing an effigy of President Obama that they planned to burn.
The Taliban, which already vowed to avenge the deaths in two villages in Kandahar province, renewed that threat on Tuesday.
«With the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers,» Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.
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Sunday’s killings in Kandahar province have caused outrage in Afghanistan. But they have not sparked the kind of violent protests seen last month after American soldiers burned Muslim holy books.
The more muted response could be a result of Afghans being used to dealing with civilian casualties over a decade of war.
CBS News terrorism consultant Jere Van Dyk agrees, saying the lack of bloodshed so far may be largely a case of geography.
Last month’s riots following the burning of Muslim holy books were mostly in the capital of Kabul, where the former U.S. ally Northern Alliance holds sway. The group is opposed to the Taliban.
«(They) were using the Koran burning to show their fear over the U.S. starting to negotiate with the Taliban,» said Van Dyk, adding that the Northern Alliance is «more confident, more sophisticated and understand the media more.»
By contrast, in the rural village outside Kandahar where the alleged killing spree took place, worn-down residents are fearful of foreign soldiers and have suffered through three decades of war, Van Dyke says. As such, their protests have typically been less violent and more symbolic.
Source: cbsnews.com