US soldier, Robert Bales, accused of gunning down civilians in Afghanistan also faces six counts of attempted murder and assault.

US soldier, Robert Bales, accused of gunning down civilians in Afghanistan also faces six counts of attempted murder and assault.

A US soldier accused of gunning down civilians in southern Afghanistan is to be charged with 17 counts of murder.

Robert Bales, an army staff sergeant, also faces six counts of attempted murder and six counts of aggravated assault, an official told AP on condition of anonymity.

Bales, 38, is suspected of leaving a US base in southern Afghanistan, entering homes and shooting villagers, including nine children, in their sleep on 11 March.

He is currently being held in an isolated cell at the maximum-security US military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The shootings in Kandahar province have placed further pressure on already strained ties between the US and Afghan governments. Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president has accused the US military of failing to co-operate with an investigation he has ordered into the killings.