US marine in Iraq deaths hearing

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A military hearing has begun to decide whether a US Marine, Sgt Frank Wuterich, should be tried for murder over an attack in which 24 Iraqis died.

He is alleged to be the ringleader of US troops who killed Iraqi civilians in November 2005 in the town of Haditha.

His lawyers are expected to argue that his actions were lawful because he followed rules of combat engagement.

Four marines were initially accused of unpremeditated murder, but charges against two of them have been dropped.

The two still charged, Sgt Wuterich and fellow marine L/Cpl Stephen Tatum, could face life imprisonment if found guilty. L/Cpl Tatum's case is currently under review.

Four senior officers were charged with failing adequately to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killings, but the case against one has been dismissed.

'Insurgent gunfight'

Twenty-four Iraqi civilians, including three women, seven children and several elderly men, died at Haditha, in Anbar province, on 19 November 2005.

<a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/5105284.stm">US inquiries into Iraq deaths</a> Iraqi witnesses say the shootings were in retaliation for a roadside bomb that killed one of the marines, Lance Cpl Miguel Terrazas, as his convoy drove through the town.

The US military at first reported that the Iraqis had been killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) that killed L/Cpl Miguel Terrazas, or in a subsequent gunfight with insurgents.

But Iraqi witnesses said the US troops shot dead five unarmed men in a car when they approached the scene of the bombing in a taxi.

They were then accused of killing 19 other civilians in three houses nearby over the next few hours.

Despite the accusations, there was no full US investigation into what happened until January 2006, when video footage emerged of the aftermath, shot by a local human rights activist.

'False statement'

The officer in charge of the Camp Pendleton hearing, Lt Col Paul Ware, must decide whether or not Sgt Wuterich should face a court martial over the killings.

Among the most serious allegations against him is that he and another marine shot dead five unarmed Iraqis while they had their hands in the air.

Sgt Wuterich is also accused of making a false official statement and telling another marine to do likewise.

His defence lawyer, Lt Col Colby Vokey, told the Associated Press news agency earlier this week: "These marines were doing exactly as they were trained to do.

"They were responding to an attack and a threat."