KABUL (Reuters) – Eight U.S. soldiers have been charged in connection with the October death of Private Danny Chen, who was found in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan after apparently shooting himself, NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said on Wednesday.

Chen’s platoon leader, 1st Lieutenant Daniel Schwartz, is among the accused, charged with dereliction of duty. Five other soldiers face charges including involuntary manslaughter, assault and negligent homicide.

The charges were the result of a commander’s inquiry into the death of 19 year-old Chen, an only child from the Manhattan Chinatown community in New York.

An Army criminal investigation into the circumstances of Chen’s death remains open, said a spokesman for the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Command.

“Aside from investigating the actual cause and manner of Private Chen’s death, we are also investigating the circumstances leading up to his death,” U.S.-based spokesman Chris Grey said in an email.

“You can be sure that CID will continue to conduct a professional and very thorough investigation. We are not releasing any details to the public at this point to protect the integrity of our ongoing investigation.”

Other charges from the commander’s inquiry, detailed by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), include maltreatment, communicating a threat, making a false official statement and destruction of military property.

KABUL (Reuters) – A controversial scheme that pays and arms Afghans to defend their villages in areas with a strong insurgent presence is likely to be expanded and extended, a senior officer from the NATO-led coalition fighting in Afghanistan has said.

The Afghan Local Police (ALP) were a flagship project of General David Petraeus, who stepped down as commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan earlier this year, but have been criticized by human rights groups.

Petraeus described them as one of the most critical planks of a stepped-up push for security. They aim to use modest salaries and foreign mentors to build or formalize local protection networks in areas with little army or police presence.

Original plans called for up to 30,000 members, though only around 10,000 are in place at the moment.

The scheme, launched in 2010, was originally expected to last no more than five years, after which units would be demobilized or absorbed into the regular police.

But commanders from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) consider them a key part of their success in loosening the Taliban’s grip on areas like the southern Arghandab valley, once an insurgent stronghold.

And the coalition is now seriously considering making the groups a more lasting part of Afghanistan’s security landscape.