By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers were charged with premeditated murder after being accused of shooting three detainees north of Baghdad on May 9 and then threatening to kill a fellow soldier if he told the truth about the incident, the U.S. military said on Monday.
The charges were brought against U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard, Pfc. Corey Clagett and Spc. William Hunsaker, according to charge sheets provided by Army officials at the Pentagon. Premeditated murder charges can bring the death penalty under U.S. military law.
The three soldiers were members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and were charged in the deaths of three male detainees whose identities remain unknown during an operation at a former chemical factory, the military said.
The charge sheet released by the Army said the dead men were "of apparent Middle Eastern descent whose names are unknown."
The charges also include attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat and obstructing justice, the military said.
The deaths took place during a raid on a suspected insurgent training camp near Thar Thar Lake, southwest of Tikrit, on May 9, when, the military said at the time, more than 200 people were detained at a former chemical factory.
The case comes as the military is investigating other cases of alleged abuses by U.S. troops, including the killings of 24 unarmed civilians in the town of Haditha last November.
A military statement on Monday said the commander of the unit involved in the Thar Thar incident had ordered an inquiry on the day the three detainees died. The soldiers are in custody pending a hearing to determine whether they should face a court-martial.
Last month, the military issued a statement hailing the success of Operation Iron Triangle, a three-day raid launched on May 9 against the Muthana Chemical Complex near Thar Thar Lake, a sprawling plant closed after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Some 230 Americans from the 101st Airborne's 3rd Brigade Combat Team and nearly 200 Iraqi soldiers stormed the complex from helicopters, said a statement posted on a U.S. military Web site on May 18.
Source: Reuters UK
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID...RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-USA-PRISONERS.xml
No comments:
Post a Comment