Afghan officials attacked at scene of US killings

"One or more enemy were hiding there. When the delegation arrived they fired, one policeman is injured. A search operation is under way," interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told AFP.

A local reporter at the scene in Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province told AFP that two of President Hamid Karzai\'s brothers were in the delegation from Kabul, along with provincial government officials.

"There was an armed attack on them from a distance and the firing continued for about 10 minutes," he said.

"Bullets were coming like rain on us," another witness told AFP.

Taliban insurgents have vowed revenge for the killings by the US soldier, who walked out of his base in the early hours of Sunday morning, broke into three village houses and killed 16 people -- mainly women and children.

The delegation had left the area, with some heading back to Kandahar city, about 45 kilometres away, while others remained to continue an investigation into Sunday\'s shootings, a member of the delegation said.

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