The week at a glance...United States

United States

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Killer sentenced: A U.S. soldier who carried out one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was sentenced last week to life in prison with no chance of parole, angering survivors and victims’ families seeking his execution. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales pleaded guilty in June to murdering 16 Afghan civilians during a one-man shooting rampage in Kandahar province, as part of a deal that allowed the soldier to avoid the death penalty. A six-member military jury announced their decision in front of villagers who had travelled nearly 7,000 miles to testify against Bales, describing through an interpreter how he had gunned down their relatives as they slept in March 2012. “We wanted this murderer to be executed,” said Haji Mohammad Wazir, who lost 11 family members in the attack.

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