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US soldier charged with murders | US soldier charged with murders |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A US soldier has been charged with five counts of murder a day after five fellow soldiers were shot dead at a military counselling clinic in Iraq. | |
Sgt John Russell was also charged with one count of aggravated assault, spokesman Maj Gen David Perkins said. | Sgt John Russell was also charged with one count of aggravated assault, spokesman Maj Gen David Perkins said. |
Sgt Russell, serving with the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Germany, was taken into custody after the shooting in Camp Liberty, Baghdad. | Sgt Russell, serving with the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Germany, was taken into custody after the shooting in Camp Liberty, Baghdad. |
One Navy doctor, an Army doctor and three enlisted personnel were killed. | One Navy doctor, an Army doctor and three enlisted personnel were killed. |
The clinic provides troops with help for personal issues or combat stress. | The clinic provides troops with help for personal issues or combat stress. |
Weapon confiscated | |
Maj Gen Perkins said Sgt Russell had been referred to the clinic by his superiors, and that his weapon had been taken away about a week before the incident. | |
Details of the shooting are still unclear. | |
"We have many different accounts into exactly what happened," Maj Gen Perkins said. | |
Sgt Russell was "probably" on his third tour of duty in Iraq, but was due to return home soon, officials said. | |
An inquiry is under way into whether there are sufficient mental health facilities in Iraq for troops. | |
Almost one in five US soldiers deployed in Iraq suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to the US military's Battlemind website. | |
Incidents of US troops shooting fellow soldiers are rare. | |
The last such reported incident took place on 14 September 2008, when Sergeant Joseph Bozicevich allegedly shot dead two of his superior officers. This case is still being investigated. | |
Monday's shooting was the deadliest single incident involving US forces since 10 April, when five soldiers were killed by a truck bomb in the northern city of Mosul. | Monday's shooting was the deadliest single incident involving US forces since 10 April, when five soldiers were killed by a truck bomb in the northern city of Mosul. |