Militants have attacked an Afghan government delegation visiting the site in one of the two villages in southern Afghanistan where a U.S. soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians.

The attackers opened fire at the delegation from several sides on today.

An Associated Press reported witnessed the attack, which is still under way. It's unclear if anyone has been wounded or killed.

The delegation includes two of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brothers and senior security officials.

A U.S. soldier has been detained in connection with Sunday's shooting rampage that left 16 civilians dead in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai in Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

Hundreds of students in eastern Afghanistan are holding the first significant protest against the shooting spree.

The students shouted angry slogans against the soldier in the eastern city of Jalalabad and carried banners calling for his public trial.

Some of the protesters were constructing an effigy of President Barack Obama that they planned to burn.

Sunday's killings in Kandahar province have caused outrage in Afghanistan. But they have not sparked the kind of violent protests seen last month after American soldiers burned Muslim holy books.

The more muted response could be a result of Afghans being used to dealing with civilian casualties over a decade of war.

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