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Insurgents attack as investigators travel to Afghan massacre sites
This version of Insurgents Attack Investigators Travel Afghan Massacre Sites Flna424437 - Breaking News | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
Afghan security forces take up positions in a dried water canal after Taliban militants opened fire on a delegation of senior Afghan officials in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March. 13, 2012. Taliban militants opened fire Tuesday on a delegation of senior Afghan officials including two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers visiting villages in southern Afghanistan where a U.S. soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)Allauddin Khan / AP
An Afghan villager, right, shows an empty canister to delegation members allegedly used by US 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. Taliban militants opened fire Tuesday on a delegation of senior Afghan officials including two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers visiting villages in southern Afghanistan where a U.S. soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)Allauddin Khan / AP
Afghan villagers listen to speeches of an Afghan official ,unseen, part of a delegation during prayer ceremony for victims of Sunday's killing of civilians by a U.S. soldier in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March. 13, 2012. Taliban militants opened fire Tuesday on a delegation of senior Afghan officials including two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers visiting villages in southern Afghanistan where a U.S. soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)Allauddin Khan / AP
Afghan security forces take up positions in a dried water canal after Taliban militants opened fire on a delegation of senior Afghan officials in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March. 13, 2012. Taliban militants opened fire Tuesday on a delegation of senior Afghan officials including two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers visiting villages in southern Afghanistan where a U.S. soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)Allauddin Khan / AP
Suspected insurgents opened fire on Tuesday on senior Afghan investigators of the massacre of 16 civilians by a lone U.S. soldier, Afghan officials said, just hours after the Taliban threatened to behead American troops to avenge the killings.
Karzai's brothers were unharmed in the brief battle, which began during meetings with local people at a mosque near Najiban and Alekozai villages, but a soldier was killed and a civilian wounded.
"The U.S. takes this as seriously as if it were our own citizens and our own children who were murdered," Obama said at the White House.
-- Msnbc.com and news services contributed to this post
TOPSHOTS-A mourner cries over the bodies of Afghan civilians, allegedly shot by a rogue US soldier, seen loaded into the back of a truck in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. An AFP reporter counted 16 bodies -- including women and children -- in three Afghan houses after a rogue US soldier walked out of his base and began shooting civilians early Sunday. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it had arrested a soldierJANGIR / AFP - Getty Images
