Kandahar massacre

Kandahar massacre[edit]

Main article: Kandahar massacre

On the night of March 11, 2012, 16 Afghan civilians (nine children—some as young as two years old—four women and three men) were shot and killed in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai near Camp Belambai.^[17][18] On March 24, U.S. Army investigators said Bales was the only person responsible for the shootings and the deaths were the result of two separate attacks. Investigators said Bales returned to Camp Belambai after the first attack and left the camp an hour later to commit the second attack.^[19][20]

A senior military official said Bales had been drinking alcohol with two other soldiers on the night of the shootings, in violation of military rules in combat zones.^[21] According to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Bales acknowledged the killings and "told individuals what happened" immediately after being captured.^[22] Minutes later he refused to speak with investigators and asked for an attorney.^[23][24] Bales' civilian attorney John Henry Browne, later said, "I don't know that the government is going to prove much. There's no forensic evidence. There's no confession."^[25] However, in May 2013, Browne said his client would confess to the massacre in return for avoiding the death penalty.^[26]