Kandahar massacre The Kandahar massacre , more precisely identified as the Panjwai massacre , occurred in the early hours of March 11 , 2012 , when United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales murdered sixteen civilians and wounded six others in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province , Afghanistan . Nine of his victims were children , and eleven of the dead were from the same family . Some of the corpses were partially burned . Bales was taken into custody later that morning when he told authorities , " I did it " . On August 23 , 2013 , a jury at Joint Base Lewis - McChord in Fort Lewis , Washington sentenced him to life in prison without parole . American and International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ) authorities apologized for the deaths . Afghan authorities condemned the act , describing it as " intentional murder " . The National Assembly of Afghanistan passed a resolution demanding a public trial in Afghanistan , but then - U . S . Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the soldier would be tried under U . S . military law . Bales pleaded guilty on 5 June 2013 to 16 counts of premeditated murder in exchange for the prosecution not seeking the death penalty . At the time of the plea , he stated that he did not know why he committed the murders . United States authorities concluded that the killings were the act of a single individual . On 15 March 2012 , an Afghan parliamentary probe team made up of several members of the National Assembly of Afghanistan had speculated that up to 20 American soldiers were involved in the killings . The team later said they could not confirm claims that multiple soldiers took part in the killings . Background . The ' Surge ' in southern Afghanistan . Panjwai is the birthplace of the Taliban movement and has traditionally been a stronghold of theirs . It has been an area of heavy fighting and was the focus of a military surge in 2010 , which brought a more than two - fold increase in airstrikes , night raids into Afghan homes , insurgent casualties , and a six - fold increase in special forces operations throughout Afghanistan . Fighting in Panjwai and adjacent Zhari , Arghandab and Kandahar districts was particularly intense . Conflict between the civilian population and U . S . forces was exacerbated by the wholesale destruction of some villages by American forces , mass arrests , murder of civilians by rogue units , and high casualties from improvised explosive device s ( IEDs ) . One of the families targeted in the Kandahar shootings had returned to the area in 2011 after previously being displaced by the surge . Fearing the Taliban but encouraged by the U . S . government , the Army , and the Afghan government , they settled near the American military base because they thought it would to be a safe place to live . Approximately three weeks before the incidents , U . S . – Afghan relations were strained by an incident where copies of the Quran were burnt at the Bagram Air Base . A couple of months before the shootings , U . S . Marines were videotaped urinating on dead Taliban fighters . Allegations of issues at Fort Lewis . The shooter , Robert Bales , was based at Joint Base Lewis - McChord ( JBLM ) . The primary medical treatment facility at the base , Madigan Army Medical Center , has come under investigation for downgrading diagnoses of soldiers with PTSD to lesser ailments . Military support groups around the base have alleged that base commanders did not give returning troops sufficient time to recover before sending them on further deployments , and that the base ' s medical unit is understaffed and overwhelmed by the numbers of returning veterans with deployment - related medical and psychological trauma . Soldiers from the base have been linked to other atrocities and crimes . The 2010 Maywand District murders involved JBLM - based soldiers . Also in 2010 , a recently discharged AWOL soldier from JBLM shot a police officer in Salt Lake City . In April 2011 , a JBLM soldier killed his wife and 5 - year - old son before killing himself . In January 2012 , a JBLM soldier murdered a Mount Rainier National Park ranger . In two separate incidents , unrelated JBLM soldiers have been charged with waterboarding their children . Jorge Gonzalez , executive director of a veterans resource center near Fort Lewis , said that the Kandahar killings offer more proof that the base is dysfunctional : " This was not a rogue soldier . JBLM is a rogue base , with a severe leadership problem " , he said in a statement . Base officials responded , saying that the crimes committed by its soldiers were isolated events which do not " reflect on the work and dedication of all service members . " Robert H . Scales , a retired U . S . Army major general and former commandant of the Army War College , suggested that the major factor in the shootings was the overuse of infantry personnel in the last ten years for close combat in Iraq , Afghanistan , and elsewhere . 8 March roadside bombing . Residents of Mokhoyan , a village about 500 metres east of Camp Belamby , stated that a bomb had exploded in their vicinity on 8 March , destroying an armored vehicle and wounding several U . S . soldiers . They recounted that U . S . soldiers afterwards lined many of the male villagers against a wall , threatening to " get revenge for this incident by killing at least 20 of your people , " and threatening that " you and your children will pay for this " . One Mokhoyan resident told " The Associated Press " " It looked like they were going to shoot us , and I was very afraid . " American officials from The Pentagon declared that they had " no evidence " that villagers had been lined up against a wall and threatened in Mokhoyan . U . S . officials refused to confirm or deny that American soldiers were wounded outside the village on 8 March . Bales ' lawyer , John Henry Browne , later stated that his client was upset because a fellow soldier had lost a leg in an explosion on 9 March . It is unclear whether the bombing cited by Browne was the same as the one described by the villagers . Incident . Killings . According to official reports , a heavily armed male American soldier left combat outpost Camp Belamby at 3 : 00 a . m . local time wearing night vision goggles . The soldier was wearing traditional Afghan clothing over his ISAF fatigues . According to government officials with knowledge of the investigation , the killings were carried out in 2 phases , with the killer returning to base in between . An Afghan guard reported a soldier returning to base at 1 : 30 am , and another guard reported a soldier leaving at 2 : 30 am . The killer is believed to have first gone to Alkozai , about 1 / 2 mile north of Camp Belambay , then to Najiban ( called Balandi in earlier reports ) , located 1 1 / 2 miles south of the base . Four people were killed and six wounded in Alkozai , and 12 people were killed in Najiban . American sentries at the base heard gunshots in Alkozai , but did not take action besides attempting to view Alkozai from their post inside the base . Until 22 March , U . S . authorities recognized 16 people killed , including nine children , four men , and three women . On 22 March that number was revised to 17 , but later reduced back to 16 . It was initially reported that five others were injured , and that number was eventually increased to six . Four members of the same family were killed in Alkozai . According to a 16 - year - old boy who was shot in the leg , the soldier woke up his family members before shooting them . Another witness said she saw the man drag a woman out of her house and repeatedly hit her head against a wall . The first victim in Najiban appears to have been Mohammad Dawood . According to Dawood ' s brother , the assailant shot Dawood in the head , but spared Dawood ' s wife and six children after the wife screamed at him . Eleven members of Abdul Samad ' s family were killed in a house in Najiban village , including his wife , four girls between the ages of 2 and 6 , four boys between 8 and 12 , and two other relatives . According to a witness , " he dragged the boys by their hair and shot them in the mouth " . At least three of the child victims were killed by a single shot to the head of each . Their bodies were then set on fire . Then another civilian , Mohammad Dawoud , age 55 , was killed in another house in this village . Witnesses reported that the perpetrator was wearing a headlamp and / or a spotlight attached to his weapon . The perpetrator burned some of the victims ' bodies , an act considered desecration under Islamic law . Witnesses said that the eleven corpses from one family were shot in the head , stabbed , then gathered into one room and set on fire . A pile of ashes was found on the floor of one victims ' house ; at least one child ' s body was found partially charred . A reporter for " The New York Times " inspected the children ' s bodies taken to a nearby American military base and reported seeing burns on some of the legs and heads . Surrender and confession . Following the events at Alkozai and Balandi , a U . S . soldier handed himself over into ISAF custody . Afghan forces spotted him leaving his outpost before the killings and U . S . commanders on base assembled their troops for a head count when it was discovered that the soldier was missing . A patrol was dispatched to find the missing soldier , but did not find him before he returned to base after the killings . He was reportedly taken into custody without incident . There were no military operations being conducted in the area at the time of the shootings . The surveillance video from the base reportedly shows " the soldier walking up to his base covered in a traditional Afghan shawl . The soldier removes the shawl and lays his weapon on the ground , then raises his arms in surrender . " The video has not been released to the public . American investigators suspect that the shooter may have departed the base before midnight , committed the murders in Balandi , then returned to the base around 1 : 30 a . m . The shooter may have then departed the base at 2 : 30 a . m . and committed the murders in Alkozai . It was apparently the second departure which caused the alert and the commencement of the patrol to locate the missing soldier . According to U . S . defense officials , upon his return to the base the soldier said three words : " I did it " and then told individuals what happened . Later the shooter retained a lawyer and refused to speak further with investigators . The United States flew the alleged shooter out of Afghanistan to Kuwait on 14 March 2012 , then to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas on 16 March . A Pentagon spokesman said the move was done because of a " legal recommendation " . The number of assailants . According to U . S . authorities , the attack was conducted by a single soldier – Staff Sergeant Robert Bales . The U . S . military showed Afghan authorities the footage from the surveillance video at the base as proof that there was only one perpetrator of the shootings . According to Reuters , some neighbors and relatives of the dead saw a group of U . S . soldiers arrive at their village at about 2 a . m . , enter homes and open fire . " They were all drunk and shooting all over the place , " said neighbor Agha Lala . According to " The New York Times " , one of the attack ' s survivors and " at least five other villagers " described seeing a number of soldiers , while some other Afghan residents described seeing only one gunman . One mother - of - six , whose husband was killed during the incident , reported involvement of a large number of people : " When they shot dead my husband , I tried to drag him into the house . . . I saw more than 20 people when I looked out the house . The Americans pointed their guns at me and threatened me , telling me not to leave the house or they ' d kill me . " An eight - year - old girl named Noorbinak , whose father was killed reported that " one man entered the room and the others were standing in the yard , holding lights . " The brother of another victim claimed his nephews and nieces had seen " numerous soldiers " with headlamps and lighted guns . Some elected officials said that they believed the attack was planned , claiming that one soldier could not have carried out such an act without help . In response , Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed General Sher Mohammad Karimi to investigate the claims . On 15 March 2012 , an Afghan parliamentary probe team made up of several members of the National Assembly of Afghanistan announced that up to 20 American soldiers were involved in the killings , with support from two helicopters . They had spent two days in the province on site , interviewing the survivors and collecting evidence . One of the members of the probe team , Hamizai Lali , said : " We closely examined the site of the incident , talked to the families who lost their beloved ones , the injured people and tribal elders . . . The villages are one and a half kilometre from the American military base . We are convinced that one soldier cannot kill so many people in two villages within one hour . . . [ the victims ] have been killed by the two groups . " Lali asked the Afghan government , the United Nations and the international community to ensure the perpetrators were punished in Afghanistan . While visiting one of the affected villages , Hamid Karzai pointed to one of the villagers and said : " In his family , in four rooms people were killed – children and women were killed – and then they were all brought together in one room and then set on fire . That , one man cannot do . " However , the team later said they could not confirm that multiple soldiers took part in the killings . Financial payments to victims ' families . On 25 March 2012 at the office of the governor of Kandahar province , the United States gave the equivalent of US $ 860 , 000 to the victims ' families , allocated as $ 50 , 000 for each person killed and $ 10 , 000 for each person injured . The official who disbursed payments to the families said the money was not compensation , but rather the U . S . government ' s offering to help the victims and their families . A member of the Kandahar provincial council described the payments as assistance , but not as the kind of legal compensation that would absolve the accused . Robert Bales . The Army alleged that Robert Bales , a 38 - year - old United States Army Staff Sergeant stationed at Camp Belambay , was the only person responsible for the shootings . According to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta , immediately after being captured , Bales acknowledged the killings and " told individuals what happened " . He then asked for an attorney and refused to speak with investigators about his motivations . According to officials , Bales may have been having marital problems , and the investigation of the shootings is looking into the possibility that an e - mail about marriage problems might have provoked Bales . His wife wrote on her blog about her disappointment after he was passed over for a promotion to Sergeant First Class ( E - 7 ) . The family was also struggling with finances , and three days before the shootings Bales ' wife put their home up for sale , as they had fallen behind with mortgage payments . On March 23 , 2012 , the U . S . government charged Bales with 17 counts of murder , six counts of attempted murder , and six counts of assault . On March 24 , 2012 , American investigators said they believe Bales split the killings in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai into two attacks , returning to Camp Belamby after the first attack before slipping out again an hour later . No other U . S . military personnel were disciplined for having any role in the incident . On August 22 , 2013 , Bales pled guilty at his General Court - martial , apologized for his killing spree , and described the massacre as an " act of cowardice . " The plea spared Bales from the death penalty . On August 23 , 2013 , Bales was sentenced to life in prison without parole by the court . He was also demoted to Private ( E - 1 ) , the lowest possible rank , dishonorably discharged , and ordered to forfeit all pay and allowances . A commanding general overseeing the court - martial has the option of reducing the sentence to life with the possibility of parole . Afghan villagers and the families of Bales ' victims were upset by the decision saying he deserved death . Reactions . Reaction from family members and Afghan society . A woman who lost four family members in the incident said , " We don ' t know why this foreign soldier came and killed our innocent family members . Either he was drunk or he enjoyed killing civilians . " Abdul Samad , a 60 - year old farmer who lost 11 family members , eight of whom were children , spoke about the incident : " I don ' t know why they killed them . Our government told us to come back to the village , and then they let the Americans kill us . " One grieving mother , holding a dead baby in her arms , said , " They killed a child , was this child the Taliban ? Believe me , I haven ' t seen a 2 - year - old member of the Taliban yet . " " I don ' t want any compensation . I don ' t want money , I don ' t want a trip to Mecca , I don ' t want a house . I want nothing . But what I absolutely want is the punishment of the Americans . This is my demand , my demand , my demand and my demand , " said one villager , whose brother was killed . More than 300 Panjwai locals gathered around the military base to protest the killings . Some brought burned blankets to represent those killed . In one house , an elderly woman screamed : " May God kill the only son of Karzai , so he feels what we feel . " On 13 March , hundreds of university students protested in Afghanistan ' s eastern city of Jalalabad , shouting " Death to America – Death to Obama " and burning effigies of the U . S . president and a Christian cross . On 15 March about 2 , 000 people took part in another protest , in the southern province of Zabul . Reaction from Afghan authorities . The President of Afghanistan , Hamid Karzai , called the incident " intentional murder " and stated " this [ was ] an assassination , an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven . " He said the United States must now pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead in an effort to reduce civilian deaths . On 16 March Afghan President said the U . S . 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 " has been going on for too long . . . It is by all means the end of the rope here " . A spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry condemned the act " in the strongest possible terms . " Afghan politicians wanted Bales to face an Afghan court . The National Assembly of Afghanistan insisted that the U . S . soldier be put on public trial in Afghanistan : " We seriously demand and expect that the government of the United States punish the culprits and try them in a public trial before the people of Afghanistan . " It also condemned the killings as " brutal and inhuman " and declared that " people are running out of patience over the ignorance of foreign forces . " Abdul Rahim Ayobi , a member of parliament from Kandahar , said the shooting " gives us the message that now the American soldiers are out of the control of their generals . " Kamal Safai , a member from Kunduz , said that while it was the act of a single man , " the public reaction will blame the government of America , not the soldier . " Reaction from U . S . and NATO . American and ISAF forces apologized and promised a full investigation , with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stating that the soldier " will be brought to justice and be held accountable " and that the death penalty " could be a consideration . " U . S . president Barack Obama called the incident " absolutely tragic and heartbreaking " but noted that he was " proud generally " of what U . S . troops have accomplished in Afghanistan . Obama said the incident did not represent the " exceptional character " of the American military and the respect that the United States had for the people of Afghanistan . On 13 March , he said , " the United States takes this as seriously as if it were our own citizens and our own children who were murdered . We ’ re heartbroken over the loss of innocent life . The killing of innocent civilians is outrageous and it ’ s unacceptable . " In response to a reporter asking whether the killings could be likened to the 1968 My Lai massacre of civilians by U . S . forces in South Vietnam , Obama replied , " It ' s not comparable . It appeared you had a lone gunman who acted on his own . " General John R . Allen , commander of the ISAF , issued an apology as well . Adrian Bradshaw , the deputy commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan , apologized " I wish to convey my profound regrets and dismay . . . I cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts , but they were in no way part of authorised ISAF military activity . " A " rapid and thorough " inquiry was promised . U . S . officials said the killings would not affect their strategies in the area . Reaction from the Taliban . The Taliban said in a statement on its website that " sick - minded American savages " committed the " blood - soaked and inhumane crime . " The militant group promised the families of the victims that it would take revenge " for every single martyr " . The Taliban also accused Afghan security officials of being complicit in the attack . The militant group called off peace talks in the wake of the deadly rampage . On 13 March , the Taliban launched an attack on an Afghan government delegation which was visiting the site of the killings , killing one government soldier and injuring three .