Staff Sgt. Robert Bales Hearing Begins

Charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (AP) — A preliminary hearing is under way for the U.S. soldier accused of carrying out one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder for a pre-dawn attack on two villages in Kandahar Province last March. Among the victims were nine children.