Soldiers implicated in Afghan killings

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – Five soldiers from the same Washington state-based unit have now been implicated in the killing of three Afghan civilians, an Army spokeswoman said Monday.

The Army said Friday that Spc. Jeremy Morlock had been charged with three counts of premeditated murder and one count of assault.

On Monday, Lt. Col. Tamara Parker, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokeswoman, said “there is enough evidence to say that five may be charged,” although Morlock is the only one charged so far.

A second soldier is being held in confinement in Kuwait, and the other three remain with their unit in Afghanistan, she said. Like Morlock, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska, the others are assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

The charges against Morlock involve three separate events alleged to have occurred between January and May at or near Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Afghanistan, Parker said. She said she had no further details on the victims or circumstances.

The maximum penalty for conviction for premeditated murder would be life in prison or the death penalty, Parker said. Army prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty in Morlock’s case.