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| Marine's Iraq murder case dropped | Marine's Iraq murder case dropped |
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| Murder charges against a US marine accused of killing three people in the Iraqi city of Haditha have been dropped, the US military has said. | Murder charges against a US marine accused of killing three people in the Iraqi city of Haditha have been dropped, the US military has said. |
| Lance Cpl Justin Sharratt was among several marines accused of going on a rampage against Iraqis after a roadside bombing in 2005 killed a US marine. | Lance Cpl Justin Sharratt was among several marines accused of going on a rampage against Iraqis after a roadside bombing in 2005 killed a US marine. |
| Officers ruled there was insufficient evidence to take the case to trial. | Officers ruled there was insufficient evidence to take the case to trial. |
| Two more marines still face murder charges. Three others have been charged with failing to probe the deaths. | |
| A fourth, Captain Randy W Stone, had his charges of failing to investigate the killings adequately dropped on Thursday. | A fourth, Captain Randy W Stone, had his charges of failing to investigate the killings adequately dropped on Thursday. |
| Charges against another murder suspect, Sgt Sanick Dela Cruz, were dropped in April in exchange for his testimony. | Charges against another murder suspect, Sgt Sanick Dela Cruz, were dropped in April in exchange for his testimony. |
| Lance Cpl Sharratt did not deny killing the three men, but says they were insurgents and at least one was holding a rifle. | Lance Cpl Sharratt did not deny killing the three men, but says they were insurgents and at least one was holding a rifle. |
| Twenty-four Iraqi civilians, including three women, seven children and several elderly men, died in the incident. | Twenty-four Iraqi civilians, including three women, seven children and several elderly men, died in the incident. |
| The Haditha inquiry is just one of a number the US military has been conducting into alleged unlawful killings by US forces in Iraq. | The Haditha inquiry is just one of a number the US military has been conducting into alleged unlawful killings by US forces in Iraq. |