The attorney for a soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan says the suspect is from Lake Tapps, Wash.

John Henry Browne, a defense attorney from Seattle, confirmed the identity of 38-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales on Friday.

The military had earlier declined to name the suspect. A senior U.S. official said Friday it was Bales, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into an incident that has roiled relations with Afghanistan.

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AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.