Taliban Fires on Afghan Officials

The Taliban opened fire on a group of Afghan officials—including President Hamid Karzai’s brother—on Tuesday at the site where a U.S. solider killed 16 civilians over the weekend. At least one Afghan soldier was reportedly killed in Tuesday’s attack and another two were injured in the gun battle, which occurred just after a memorial at a mosque for the victims of the massacre by a U.S. soldier. In eastern Afghanistan, students staged the first significant protest in response to the killings, where they burned an effigy of President Obama and chanted “Death to America” in Jalalabad. Meanwhile, Obama said he will be directing an inquiry into the killings allegedly by a U.S. soldier, and said they will “follow the facts” and that anyone found responsible will be prosecuted. Obama called the situation tragic, but said it would not change the timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.