Spc. Ryan Hallock
While Afghans have expressed outrage over the shooting allegedly carried out by Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a Taliban commander told reporters Sunday that he wants the man tried in the country. “We want this soldier to be prosecuted in Afghanistan, and according to Islamic law,” the Taliban leader said. “The Afghans should prosecute him.” He went on to say he was skeptical of reports that the shooting was carried out by only one soldier. “The foreigners and the puppet regime are blind to the truth of what happened here,” said the Taliban official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Relations between the United States and Afghanistan have degenerated recently, prompted by the shooting and the burning of copies of the Quran in February by American soldiers.