UPDATE: Afghan Shooting Suspect Headed to Fort Leavenworth
CAIRO (AP) — Kuwait says the American soldier suspected in a killing spree in Afghanistan has left the country after a stopover. A senior U.S. defense official says the soldier is expected to be taken to the U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth as early as today (FRI). The Kuwaiti military said in a statement that the U.S. military "has flown out the soldier, who was in Kuwait in transit and left the country this (FRI) afternoon." The statement was carried on the Kuwaiti state news agency.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior defense official says the U.S. soldier accused in the killings of 16 Afghan civilians is expected to be flown to the U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth as early as today (FRI). The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security surrounding the move, says the shift does not necessarily mean a decision was imminent on announcement of formal criminal charges against the suspect. The suspect, whose name has not been made public, was moved from Afghanistan to Kuwait on Wednesday. Officials say that transfer was necessary because there was no appropriate detention facility to hold him in Afghanistan. Leavenworth is the military's only maximum-security prison.