The Afghan capital erupted in gunfire and riots after US troops shot dead at least four people following a traffic accident, with angry crowds shouting "Death to America." (CAN YOU BLAME THEM???)
Afghan protesters look at the body of a man killed by U.S. military forces in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, May 29, 2006. A deadly traffic accident involving U.S. troops sparked a riot in the capital Monday, with gunfire heard near the U.S. Embassy. At least three people died in the accident and a fourth person was reportedly killed by gunfire, police said. (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)
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Security forces halted traffic in at least some parts of the city, and police and international peacekeepers were being mobilised.
The trouble began when a US vehicle appeared to lose control and smashed into other vehicles, according to an AFP photographer who was on the scene.
The military coalition said the accident, which may have been caused by faulty brakes, killed one person and injured several. People angered by the carnage started protesting and pelting the military vehicle with stones.
US troops then opened fire and killed at least four people, the photographer said. He said two men were shot dead next to him, and two other bodies were found after the burst of gunfire. Several people were wounded.
The shooting set off more fury as protesters held aloft one of the bodies and chanted: "Death to America, Death to (President Hamid) Karzai."
"These traitors killed at least 10 people. Death to them," a protestor named Ahmadullah said told an AFP reporter, referring to the American troops.
Another said: "These cowards opened fire into the crowd and killed them like sheep. First they drove into the people's cars, destroyed them and then fired onto the people who were only throwing stones at them.
"They think Afghanistan is a playground where they can practise shooting," he said, without giving his name.
After the mob attacked police vehicles and torched a police station, Afghan police started shooting, the photographer said. The shooting seemed to worsen the violence as a crowd started marching on the diplomatic quarter.
Some were carrying knives. One man said: "Where are the Americans?"
"We are hearing a lot of gunshots," an UN employee, Marina Walter, said from a government office in the centre of the city. The UN had ordered all its employees to stay where they were, declaring the city a no-go zone, she said.
It was not possible to confirm an immediate death toll from the violence. An intelligence source who asked not to be named said initial reports indicated that seven people had been killed and nine wounded.
Local media said 20 to 30 people had been killed.
The US-led coalition said it could not confirm that the US troops had opened fire.
"There was a military flatbed truck which had a mechanical failure, maybe a brake problem, and it crashed into some civilian vehicles," Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence said.
The NATO-led international peacekeeping force, ISAF, said it sent a helicopter to the scene but was asked to leave by Afghan police because of the fury of the protesters.
ISAF said it had some reports that warning shots were fired.
"We have unconfirmed reports that some warning shots were fired but I can't confirm who those warning shots were fired by," Major Toby Jackman said.
He said the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had despatched a helicopter to the area but was told to leave.
The chopper "had to take off again on the request of the police -- it was not helping with the crowd situation," Jackman said.
ISAF had units on hand to assist local forces but "the situation with the crowd needs to calm down a bit... we dont want to enflame the situation," he said.
The Afghan parliament broke off regular business and went into an emergency session to discuss the violence, calling for calm.
The interior ministry set up a team to go to the area to establish the number of dead and wounded.
The incident comes just over a week after a major coalition strike against Taliban insurgents in the south of Afghanistan. The country's main human rights group said that attack killed about 34 civilians.
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