The Taliban vowed revenge on Monday after at least one United States soldier shot to death16 civilians in southern Afghanistan and burned their bodies, fueling anger over the US military's presence in the country after a decade-long war.

The Taliban said in a statement on their website that "sick-minded American savages" committed the "blood-soaked and inhumane crime", and promised the victims' families that it would take revenge "for every single martyr with the help of Allah", the Associated Press reported.

At 3 am on Sunday, a US staff sergeant allegedly wandered 450 meters from his base in thesouthern Kandahar province, killed 16 Afghans including nine children, before returning to base and turning himself in, the AP said.

Afghanistan's parliament said in a statement on Monday “that once again Afghans have run out of patience with the arbitrary actions of foreign forces", according to Reuters.

Afghans expressed doubt on Monday that a single US Army soldier could have shot and killed 16 civilians in houses over 2 kilometers apart and burned the bodies afterward, the AP said.

The soldier blamed for the shootings is in custody, but villagers told Afghan officials they heard shots being fired from several directions, said the AP.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said its initial reports indicate one soldier carried out the attacks, but they left open the possibility there could have been more, said the AP.

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