By msnbc.com staff and news services
Updated at 3:10 a.m. ET: KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S. service member was detained after shooting Afghan civilians in Kandahar province, the U.S. military said on Sunday. The BBC reported that at least three people were killed, while other reports put the number of killed at 17.
"It was a shooting incident involving multiple civilians wounded," NATO spokesman Captain Brockhoff said, adding that there were no initial reports of deaths in the attack.
The wounded were receiving treatment at NATO medical facilities, he said.
"This is a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our thoughts and concerns to the families involved," a NATO statement said.
Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wisa, meanwhile, said a U.S. soldier left his base in Kandahar on Saturday and opened fire on civilians, according to Reuters.
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Wisa said initial reports indicated up to 16 civilians were killed. Al Jazeera English reported that local officials said up to 17 civilians had been slain.
There was no explanation for the differing death tolls.
The BBC report said the soldier shot the civilians after walking off his base, then surrendered to U.S. military authorities. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul reported that the soldier was thought to have had a breakdown.
Tribal leaders told the BBC that women and children and men were among the dead.
The NATO statement said U.S. military officials would conduct an investigation in cooperation with Afghan officials.
Civilian casualties have been a major source of friction between President Hamid Karzai's government and U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.
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"U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, in cooperation with Afghan authorities, will investigate this incident,'' NATO said.
Anti-American sentiment is running high in Afghanistan and it may deepen if news of the shooting spreads.
Anger gripped the country after U.S. soldiers burned a large number of copies of the Koran at a NATO base last month. NATO said it was a tragic blunder.
Thirty people were killed in protests and Afghan forces turned their weapons on U.S. soldiers, killing six.
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Msnbc.com and Reuters contributed to this report.
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