Four incidents under review
Status of military investigations into four allegations of U.S. troops killing Iraqi civilians:
Hamdania: Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman were charged with murder and kidnapping Wednesday in connection with the shooting death of an Iraqi man in Hamdania west of Baghdad. The man was reportedly pulled from his home April 26 and shot to death without provocation. The Marines and Navy corpsman are being held in solitary confinement at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego.
Haditha: Investigation is ongoing into allegations that two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians were killed by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha on Nov. 19. Iraqi witnesses charge that after a Marine was killed by a roadside bomb, troops went house to house and shot occupants as well as others outside. A lawyer representing families of some of the victims said three or four Marines carried out the shootings while 20 more waited outside the homes. Separately, the military also is investigating if there was a cover-up.
Salahuddin: Four U.S. soldiers have been charged in connection with the May deaths of three Iraqis who were in their custody. The detainees died during an operation near the Thar Thar canal in northern Salahuddin province on May 9. A noncommissioned officer and two soldiers were charged Monday, and another soldier was charged Wednesday. All four face charges of premeditated murder, and they individually face other charges that include attempted murder and conspiracy.
Ishaqi: A military investigation cleared U.S. troops of intentionally killing Iraqi civilians in a March 15 raid in the village of Ishaqi. After being fired upon from a building, the soldiers pulled back and called in an Air Force AC-130 gunship, which attacked and collapsed the building, two defense officials said. The military has acknowledged “possibly up to nine collateral deaths” in addition to the four Iraqi deaths announced at the time of the raid. The investigation concluded that the troops responded properly by calling in the strike after they came under attack from the building.