U.S. officials have identified the soldier accused of killing the 16 Afghan civilians as Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, as he is on his way to be transferred back to the United States.

According to the CNN, the soldier, who was identified by anonymous officials, is on his way to a U.S. army base in Kansas Friday.

Bales has been in protective custody in Kuwait after he was flown out of Afghanistan, and was expected to arrive at Fort Leavenworth army base in Kansas later Friday.

The weekend shooting spree, which killed nine children, three women and four men, has sparked fury in Afghanistan. Despite Afghans' strong demand that the suspect be tried publicly in the country, the U.S. side transferred him to Kuwait Wednesday out of "legal considerations."

The incident further strained the relationship between Washington and Kabul, which has already been clouded by other recent incidents including the burning of Korans at a U.S. base in Afghanistan and reports of U.S. service members urinating on the corpses of Taliban soldiers.

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