NEW : `` You could n't imagine a more difficult case , '' Bales ' lawyer says . In a statement Thursday , the Taliban said work from their Qatar office was being suspended , a decision made due to what the group called U.S. officials ' `` alternating and ever-changing position . '' The defense team has argued that the Army sergeant was not in possession of an AK-47 when he killed 16 Afghan civilians and wounded 14 others at Bagram Air Base on Nov. 21, 2009. A Taliban official says `` we do n't think that one American '' killed them all . The shooting has strained relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan .
NEW : `` You could n't imagine a more difficult case , '' Bales ' lawyer says . The defense team has argued that the Army sergeant was not in possession of an AK-47 when he killed 16 Afghan civilians and wounded 14 others at Bagram Air Base on Nov. 21, 2009. A Taliban official says `` we do n't think that one American '' killed them all . The shooting has strained relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan .