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| Iraqi soldiers charged with rape | Iraqi soldiers charged with rape |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Four Iraqi soldiers have been charged with raping a Sunni Muslim woman in Talafar, northern Iraq, officials say. | Four Iraqi soldiers have been charged with raping a Sunni Muslim woman in Talafar, northern Iraq, officials say. |
| Brig Gen Nijm Abdullah, who acts as mayor, said the men had confessed. | Brig Gen Nijm Abdullah, who acts as mayor, said the men had confessed. |
| It is the second time this week that members of Iraq's security forces have been accused of serious sexual assault of Sunni women. | It is the second time this week that members of Iraq's security forces have been accused of serious sexual assault of Sunni women. |
| The first case prompted a row between senior Sunni figures backing the allegations, and the Shia-led government, which has denied them. | The first case prompted a row between senior Sunni figures backing the allegations, and the Shia-led government, which has denied them. |
| Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said the accusations in the first case had been fabricated by Sunni groups trying to undermine the Shia-dominated security forces. | |
| Gen Abdullah said he had received a complaint from a local woman that a group of soldiers had entered her house "a few days ago" and raped her. | |
| "One of the soldiers did not approve. His name is Mushtaq Taleb from Basra. He wanted to stop his comrades by threatening them with weapons because it is an immoral act, but the rape took place anyway," Gen Abdallah added. | |
| He said had referred the troops to the judiciary for prosecution. | |
| The woman is thought to be a 40-year-old married mother of 11 from Iraq's Turkoman minority. | |
| 'Confession' | |
| The defendants are identified as a lieutenant and three enlisted men. | |
| It has not been confirmed if they are Shia Muslims, which could further raise sectarian tensions in Iraq. | |
| Basra, in southern Iraq, has an overwhelmingly Shia population. | |
| Gen Abdullah said the troops initially denied the charge, but later confessed after they were confronted by the woman. | |
| He said the officer's only alleged role in the alleged attack was filming it with a cell phone video camera. | |
| US commanders have opened an enquiry into the earlier case, alleged to have taken place in the Amil district in Baghdad. | |
| Mr Maliki published what he said was a US doctors' report saying no sexual had taken place, but the US military has not confirmed its authenticity. |