Probable cause found to hold suspect in Afghan killings

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Probable cause found to hold suspect in Afghan killings

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, March 13, 2012 9:22PM EDT

Text:

KABUL - A U.S. military official says probable cause has been found to keep holding an American soldier suspected in a shooting spree that killed 16 Afghan civilians.

The soldier, who has not been named, is accused of leaving a U.S. base in Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province and gunning down the Afghan civilians, including nine children and three women, in the middle of the night between Saturday and Sunday.

Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Kabul, says a 48-hour probable cause assessment has been completed and that the service member continues to be confined.

U.S. Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta has said that the soldier could face capital punishment.

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An Afghan villager, right, shows an empty canister to delegation members allegedly used by U.S. forces during Sunday's killing of civilians at a prayer ceremony for victims in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March. 13, 2012. (AP / Allauddin Khan)
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U.S. President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (AP / Charles Dharapak)
Afghans burn an effigy depicting U.S. President Barack Obama following Sunday's killing of civilians in Panjwai, Kandahar by a U.S. soldier during a protest in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (AP / Rahmat Gul)
Demonstrators chant anti U.S. slogans as they carry a red cross following Sunday's killing of civilians in Panjwai, Kandahar by a U.S. soldier during a protest in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (AP / Rahmat Gul)