An unnamed U.S. official says that Staff Sergeant Robert Bales will be formally charged on Friday with 17 counts of murder for his late night attack on an Afghanistan village on March 11. Bales, who is currently being held in Fort Leavenworth, will also face several other charges including attempted murder, after being accused of leaving his base in the middle of the night, breaking into several homes and killing the members of civilian families. Attorney John Henry Browne, who representing Bales, says that solider suffered from a "definite brain injury" and does not remember many of events at the time of the attack. Despite calls from Afghans for Bales to be tried in their country, Army officials insist he will face a court-martial in the United States. There is also expected to be explanation when the charges are filed, on why there are 17 counts of murder, even though the official death toll from the attack is 16.

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Dashiell Bennett