US 'massacre' soldier named

The US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians during a shooting rampage was known to friends and family as "level-headed", his lawyers said.

The suspect, 38-year-old US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, had served three combat tours in Iraq - where he was wounded twice - and was on his first deployment to Afghanistan.

Whisked out of Afghanistan to Kuwait after the attacks, Bales was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on Friday, where US officials said he was being held in pre-trial confinement.

"Public reports that Sergeant Bales's supervisors, family and friends describe him as a level-headed, experienced soldier are consistent with information gathered by the defence team," his lawyers said, adding it was "too early" to determine what caused the attack.

Civilian attorneys John Henry Browne and Emma Scanlan, along with detailed military defence counsel Major Thomas Hurley, indicated that they plan to spend "several days" with Bales.

But Browne also suggested that his client might have developed post-traumatic stress disorder from his combat experiences.

The disorder has afflicted more than 200000 veterans of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Friends and neighbours said Bales was a trusted soldier.

Kassie Holland, a family friend, said Bales and his family seemed "very normal".

"He was always really gentle with his kids. He was full of life and seemed like a happy guy for the most part," Holland said.

Bales allegedly left his base in Kandahar before sunrise on Sunday, entered a nearby Afghan village and opened fire, killing men, women and children.

One of the worst atrocities by US forces in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion over a decade ago, the incident plunged US-Afghan relations to an all-time low.

Ties were already damaged after Americans burned Korans last month - which sparked a wave of anti-American protests - and a video showing US Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban militants.

Several websites containing pictures and stories about Bales were taken down by the time his identity was revealed on Friday but some versions of the web pages could still be accessed, shedding light on his military career.

According to a cached online article dated February 2009, Bales took part in one of the bloodiest clashes of the Iraqi war.