(CBS) Survivors of a U.S. bombing raid that Afghanistan says killed at least 44 civilians in the remote Afghan village of Kakarak are telling a story of an unprovoked attack. U.S. military, however, say someone in the village had been using anti-aircraft guns to fire on U.S. planes for two days prior to the bombing.

U.S. officials have said American forces were attacking a legitimate target in the area using a B-52 bomber and an AC-130 gunship. Pentagon officials said it appeared gunfire, rather than an errant bomb, was responsible for the deaths. AC-130s are heavily armed with a variety of weapons but do not carry air-to-surface missiles.

But villagers say a U.S. plane suddenly blasted away at them Monday as they were celebrating a coming summer wedding in the pre-dawn coolness, dancing and singing in a pool of illumination from a tractor's headlights. Survivors said some people died on the spot, others fled into the darkness.

Villagers in the valley where the raid occurred say they ran for their lives through rice and corn fields as U.S. aircraft appeared to chase them, firing bullets around them,

In Kabul, the Afghan government says 44 people were killed and 120 wounded in Monday's raid, in Uruzgan province about 175 miles southwest of the capital.

"My heart is burning with anger," said Abdul Malik - whose wedding was being celebrated - and who plans to go ahead with the ceremony. "The Americans should be put on trial."

He angrily denied that there were al Qaeda or Taliban fugitives in his village.

"They say they were looking for al Qaeda," said Abdul Malik, who stood with a Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder. "But did they find any dead bodies of al Qaeda people here? We are all the right-hand men of Hamid Karzai and we support his government."

CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports that Afghanistan's Foreign Minister says nothing justifies this kind of carnage. "If this search was for one or two or ten or twenty members of leaders of Taliban or possibly Al Qaeda - one cannot justify it - the loss of so many lives," said Abdullah, the Foreign Minister.

Maj. Gary Tallman, a U.S. spokesman with a joint Afghan-American investigating commission visiting the region, said anti-aircraft artillery was firing on American planes from inside the walled compound where the villagers said the wedding party was held.

Tallman said U.S. aircraft had flown over the area hourly for two days before the Monday attack and each time the anti-aircraft gun opened fire from inside the compound.

"For 48 hours our guys were watching them fire," Tallman said, adding that the anti-aircraft battery inside the compound was coordinating with other batteries in the region.

Tallman acknowledged investigators Wednesday had found no wreckage of the gun when they visited the area, but said the compound had been identified by U.S. troops on the ground and verified by global positioning satellites and lasers.

In Washington, a U.S. official said the United States planned to provide aid to the village. "We want to provide humanitarian support for the people of the area" whether or not the U.S. was to blame, said the official, commenting anonymously.

The official did not specify what form the assistance might take but noted that the region is among the poorest in a poor country. "It's not linked to the attack as such. It's observing the ... tragedy and responding to it by way of condolences and sympathy and with assistance as well."

President Bush has offered his condolences and said that investigators are working to find out what had happened.

According to a Stars and Stripes report, the U.S. investigators appeared to be skeptical, making remarks like "There should be more blood" and "Where are the bodies?" They were shown parts of a skull and an ear.

Villagers said they had buried the bodies. Muslims traditionally bury their dead as quickly as possible.

Villagers said 25 of the dead, all members of a single extended family, were attending a party at the home of Mohammed Sherif, brother of one of President Hamid Karzai's close allies, to celebrate the marriage of Mohammed Sherif's son, Abdul Malik, which was to have occurred this week.

By tradition, neither Abdul Malik nor his fiance was present and both escaped injury. Mohammed Sherif was killed.

Although Afghans often fire weapons at such festivities, survivors insisted there had been no shooting for several hours before the raid.

"The first rocket hit the women's section," said Ahmed Jan Agha, who was playing a traditional Afghan drum during the party. "The second rocket hit the men's section. Then everybody started running. The airplanes were shooting rockets at the people running away. They were chasing us."

AC-130 gunships are not equipped with rockets, but to those coming under fire from its cannons and howitzers the weapons might appear to be rockets.

He said survivors hid in the nearby orchards and fields while the attack continued for about four hours.

"I was standing here and the airplane came over us," said Ghulam Jan Agha, 25, his wounded arm bandaged. "It was normal for us so we didn't run" until the explosions began.

When the planes were gone, Agha said American and Afghan troops entered the village, set in a narrow valley between two rocky mountain ranges.

"They told everybody to stay inside their homes," Agha said of the Americans. "They only allowed the injured to leave." The Americans departed about noon, he said. That's when the Afghans started burying their dead.

"A piece of iron sliced the woman's neck in front of me," said Naseema, a 15-year-old girl in the city of Kandahar where she had been brought for treatment. "In a split second her head was not on her body."

At the nearby village of Shartogai, 20-year-old Mohiuddin said he was sleeping outdoors when he was awakened by thunderous explosions. He saw aircraft lights and began running through a cornfield into a grove of trees where he found several children hiding from the attack.

Abdul Ghaffari, 30, showed journalists dozens of what appeared to be blast craters, some almost three feet across. He said a few people in his village were injured but no one died.

"Americans can see even small things," he said. "Why couldn't they see it wasn't al Qaeda? It was just women and children running."

At Mohammed Sherif's compound, there were two gaping holes in the roof of the house, and shards of metal were scattered through the yard. Dried blood and bits of human remains littered the area.

Forty pairs of shoes still sat awaiting owners at the front door of the house. Afghan tradition requires visitors to remove footwear before entering. Nearby lay a pile of women's clothing. A small boy stood weeping in front of it.

The Afghan government - long annoyed to be shut out of American military planning - is now pushing for more of a say, and warlords and troublemakers are already using the accident to stir up anti-American resentment.

In Kabul, Abdullah, the foreign minister, said the attack could lead to a "war atmosphere" in a country trying to rebuild after a generation of armed conflict.

"Afghans thought the war is over," Abdullah told said. "But this situation when civilians are killed again creates war atmosphere in the country. ... The issue is that this incident has to be investigated in a proper way. We don't want this to grow among people."