U.S. defence chief visits Afghanistan
The aftermath of a motorcycle bomb attack in Kandahar that killed an Afghan intelligence officer.
Two other intelligence officers and one civilian were wounded in the blast.
No-one had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Helmand Province on an unannounced visit.
He is the most senior U.S. official to visit Afghanistan since Sunday's massacre in which 16 Afghan civilians were killed in what U.S. and Afghan officials maintain was an attack by a single rogue soldier.
Panetta's scheduled two-day trip has taken on added urgency as pressure mounts over the unpopular war, now in its eleventh year.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S DEFENCE SECRETARY, LEON PANETTA, SAYING:
"This area was a Taliban stronghold once upon a time, and now a great deal of progress has been made in terms of Afghan security and Afghan governance in this area."
A series of protests have swept the country since Sunday's shootings, which closely follows last month's Koran burning scandal.
One Kandahar resident warned of serious repercussions if justice is not done.
(SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) KANDAHR RESIDENT, SAYED AHMAD SAYING:
"If the American soldier who has done this crime is not executed, the Afghan people will get together and will attack the foreign convoys even with stones like they did against the Russians."
American soldiers are the likely targets of any backlash over the massacre, and the Afghan Taliban has threatened to retaliate by beheading U.S. personnel.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
Two other intelligence officers and one civilian were wounded in the blast.
No-one had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Helmand Province on an unannounced visit.
He is the most senior U.S. official to visit Afghanistan since Sunday's massacre in which 16 Afghan civilians were killed in what U.S. and Afghan officials maintain was an attack by a single rogue soldier.
Panetta's scheduled two-day trip has taken on added urgency as pressure mounts over the unpopular war, now in its eleventh year.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S DEFENCE SECRETARY, LEON PANETTA, SAYING:
"This area was a Taliban stronghold once upon a time, and now a great deal of progress has been made in terms of Afghan security and Afghan governance in this area."
A series of protests have swept the country since Sunday's shootings, which closely follows last month's Koran burning scandal.
One Kandahar resident warned of serious repercussions if justice is not done.
(SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) KANDAHR RESIDENT, SAYED AHMAD SAYING:
"If the American soldier who has done this crime is not executed, the Afghan people will get together and will attack the foreign convoys even with stones like they did against the Russians."
American soldiers are the likely targets of any backlash over the massacre, and the Afghan Taliban has threatened to retaliate by beheading U.S. personnel.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.