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Afghanistan massacre suspect named as Sgt Robert Bales Afghanistan massacre suspect named as Sgt Robert Bales
(40 minutes later)
The US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a massacre that has undermined relations with Kabul has been named as Staff Sgt Robert Bales.The US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a massacre that has undermined relations with Kabul has been named as Staff Sgt Robert Bales.
Senior US officials told the BBC the name of the suspect as he was heading back to the US to face charges.Senior US officials told the BBC the name of the suspect as he was heading back to the US to face charges.
He is expected to land soon at Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, from Kuwait.He is expected to land soon at Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, from Kuwait.
His lawyer, John Henry Browne, said on Thursday that the suspect was a 38-year-old man who had been injured twice while serving in Iraq.His lawyer, John Henry Browne, said on Thursday that the suspect was a 38-year-old man who had been injured twice while serving in Iraq.
He also said the accused had witnessed his friend's leg blown off the day before the killings.He also said the accused had witnessed his friend's leg blown off the day before the killings.
That incident has not been confirmed by the US Army.That incident has not been confirmed by the US Army.
The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of Sunday's deadly rampage - in which men, women and children were shot and killed at close range.The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of Sunday's deadly rampage - in which men, women and children were shot and killed at close range.
The US has stressed it remained committed to Afghan reconciliation.The US has stressed it remained committed to Afghan reconciliation.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also reacted angrily to the killings. He told the US it must pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead in an effort to reduce civilian deaths.Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also reacted angrily to the killings. He told the US it must pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead in an effort to reduce civilian deaths.
On Friday he said the US was not fully co-operating with a probe into the killings.On Friday he said the US was not fully co-operating with a probe into the killings.
He also said the problem of civilian casualties at the hands of Nato forces had "gone on for too long".
"This form of activity, this behaviour cannot be tolerated. It's past, past, past the time," Mr Karzai told the BBC's Lyse Doucet at the presidential palace in Kabul.
'Decorated soldier'
Sgt Bales has not yet been charged, but is the only known suspect in the killings - despite repeated Afghan assertions that more than one American was involved.
The Pentagon has previously said that he could face charges that carry a possible death penalty.
Such a trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.
Speaking in Seattle on Thursday, where Sgt Bales is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, John Henry Browne said his new client was a "mild-mannered" man who bore no antipathy towards Muslims.
He described him as "a decorated soldier" who had exemplary record before the shooting.
The lawyer also suggested the soldier, who began his first deployment to Afghanistan in December, was not fit to serve because of injuries he had suffered on previous tours of duty.
Mr Browne said that a car accident caused by a roadside bomb in Iraq had given the soldier a concussive head injury. Part of his foot had also been removed in surgery because of a battle-related wound, he added.
"I think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record, a decorated soldier who was injured in Iraq, to his brain and to his body and then despite that was sent back," he said.
Mr Browne, who has represented a number of high-profile clients including serial killer Ted Bundy and a teenage thief known as the Barefoot Bandit, said his client was a happily married man with two children, aged three and four.