US soldier sentenced to life over Afghan village massacre

Robert Bales killed 16 civilians on family compound, court told

Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales at Fort Irwin  in Califorinia. Photograph: Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System/The New York Times
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales at Fort Irwin in Califorinia. Photograph: Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System/The New York Times

A US military jury sentenced an American soldier to life in prison without the possibility of parole today for killing 16 Afghan civilians on their family compounds in a nighttime rampage last year, according to a verdict read in court.

Army staff sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has admitted to slaughtering the villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks in Kandahar province in March 2012.

Reuters