The soldier accused of killing civilians in southern Afghanistan in a shooting rampage is to be charged with 17 counts of murder.

The soldier accused of killing civilians in southern Afghanistan in a shooting rampage is to be charged with 17 counts of murder. But the Taliban have vowed to avenge the deaths.

US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales (above right) will also face other charges, including attempted murder and six counts of aggravated assault, according to the AP news agency.

Bales was flown out of Afghanistan after the incident and is being held in at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a maximum-security military prison.

But the lawyer representing Bales - a four-tour combat veteran - has said US authorities lack proof of what happened during the incident.

'Impossible to forgive'

THE shooting spree by a US soldier in Kandahar on 11 March, prompted fears of a backlash against Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The country's president, Hamid Karzai, said the rampage was "impossible to forgive". Meanwhile, the Taliban have said they will avenge the 17 deaths.

 

We will certainly take revenge on all American forces in Afghanistan.Taliban spokesman

 

"This was a planned activity, and we will certainlytake revenge on all American forces in Afghanistan and don’t trust such trials," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Muhahid told the Reuters news agency.

Last week the Taliban said they were suspending talks with the United States in the wake of the shooting incident, complaining that the US had only responded to its demands - including the release of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay - with a list of conditions.

'Brutal actions'

Tensions were already high in Afghanistan after the discovery of charred copies of the Koran at Bagram, the main Nato base in Afghanistan. At least 30 people died in protests against the burning.

In a statement published today on their website, the Taliban say the nascent negotiations with the US were undermined by the Kandahar killings, the burning of the Korans, and footage of US Marines appearing to urinate on Afghan corpses.

“How can the opposition on the one hand be calling for a peaceful resolution to the Afghan problem, and on the other justify such brutal actions?” the website asked.