The soldier accused of gunning down 16 Afghan villagers has arrived at a U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Army officials confirmed Friday that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales had arrived at the prison in northeast Kansas after a flight from Kuwait. The 38-year-old had previously been moved to Kuwait from Afghanistan.

Bales is an 11-year veteran who was in the midst of his fourth tour in a war zone. He arrived in Afghanistan in December. He was assigned Feb. 1 to work with a village stability force that pairs special operations troops with villagers to help provide neighborhood security.

He's accused of going on a shooting rampage in villages near his southern Afghanistan base early Sunday, killing nine children and seven other civilians, then burning some of their bodies.