U.S. team to study airstrike which killed Afghan civilians

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- Investigators looking into a U.S. airstrike that Afghans say killed scores of civilians will start collecting evidence and testimony at the site next week, a U.S. officer said Saturday.

Chief investigator Brig. Gen. Anthony F. Przybyslawski arrived at Bagram air base late Friday along with eight other investigators, Col. Roger King said. Two others are due to arrive on Monday and the team will begin work within two days, he said.

Afghan-American relations have been strained since July 1, when an American AC-130 gunship opened fire on several villages in Uruzgan province. Afghan officials said 48 civilians were killed and 117 wounded. King said the United States still does not have enough evidence to confirm the casualty reports.

American troops have come under sporadic fire since the attack. On July 2, a U.S. military convoy was fired on as it returned from the Kandahar hospital where victims of the air attack were undergoing treatment. It was not known who opened fire.

The Afghan government has named Maj. Gen. Sher Mohammed Kareemi as an observer to the investigative team, which will include aviation, legal and medical experts.