Afghan shooting victims' relatives paid

Relatives of 17 people killed in a shooting rampage by a US soldier in southern Afghanistan have been paid tens of thousands of dollars in compensation, Afghan government officials say.

The families of the dead received 2.3 million Afghanis (about $A44,435) each while the injured were paid 500,000 Afghanis at a private ceremony at the Kandahar provincial governor's office, the officials told news agency AFP on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The killings - mostly of women and children - in Panjwai district are thought to be the deadliest crime by a US soldier during the decade-long conflict and have tested Washington and Kabul's already tense relationship to the limit.

The funds were provided by the US military, the officials said, adding that American officers, local government leaders and tribal elders were present at the event on Saturday.

Local government officials in Kandahar declined to comment.

In Kabul a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force declined to confirm any payment had been made.

"As a matter of policy ISAF does not make restitution for losses resulting from combat, combat-related activities or operational necessity," he said.

But he added: "Individual troop-contributing nations may participate in some form of restitution consistent with the cultural norms of Afghanistan."

Such payments are normally kept confidential, he added.

Fears had been expressed that if the families received compensation they could be targeted by Taliban militants who consistently threaten anyone who receives money from the United States or other foreign forces in Afghanistan.

BALES CHARGED OVER 17 MURDERS

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, 38, of the US 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, has been charged with 17 premeditated murders and six counts of assault and attempted murder in connection with the massacre earlier this month.

Responding to the charges, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: "We want justice and we want it as soon as possible," although a spokesman for Bales's home base said it was likely to be 18 to 24 months until any trial.

Military investigators suspect that Bales committed the shootings in two separate operations, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Citing an unnamed US official, the newspaper said the investigators believed that the soldier, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, left his base and carried out the first set of killings, returned to the combat outpost and then, sometime later that evening, went out and attacked a second village.

It was on his return from the second outing that Bales was detained, the report said.

The official said this account emerged from a range of interviews that army investigators conducted over the last several days as they tried to piece together what happened that night and why, according to the paper.

The killings - mostly of women and children - are believed to be the deadliest war crime by a NATO soldier during the decade-long conflict and have tested an already tense relationship between Washington and Kabul to the limit.

Bales, 38, is currently being held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and a US forces spokesman said it was "more than likely" the trial would be held in the United States, although the decision is still pending.

Furious relatives of the victims have demanded that proceedings take place in Afghanistan.