BRUSSELS - Justice will be served in the case of the U.S. soldier charged with the killing of 17 civilians in Afghanistan, a U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, said Saturday.
"I'm sure there will be justice," Grossman said at the Brussels Forum, an annual think tank event in the Belgian capital. "I don't think I need to sit here and justify the U.S. justice system. We have rule of law," he added. "(We) will meet our obligations in this regard."

His comments came one day after Bales was charged in the U.S. with 17 counts of murder.

He rejected criticism that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales had been "whisked" back to his home country. Bales was flown out of Afghanistan despite demands from local officials that he be tried there.
He is currently being held at a top-security military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

The 38-year-old is accused of leaving his military base and killing the civilians, many of whom were sleeping, in their southern Afghan homes on March 11. Nine children were among the dead.
Bales could face the death penalty in the US.

Afghanistan has been given "assurances that he will be held accountable," its deputy national security adviser said in Brussels.

"We're hoping that punishment will be given to this criminal," Shaida Mohammad Abdali said, noting that Kabul also expects "guarantees" that something similar will not happen again.

"This incident was really tragic. ... It's natural to be angry at loss of life wherever it is," he added. "We may be different ... but we're equal in terms of being a human being." (DPA)