De Independent bericht: 'US Marines to face trial over killings at Haditha.US Marines will be court-martialled over the massacre of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha, it was reported last night.
The BBC said it had learnt that American soldiers would stand trial over the killings, on 19 November last year. The Pentagon is close to ending its inquiries into the deaths and seems likely to conclude that its troops have a case to answer.
The dead included women and children said to be as young as two.
The Wall St Journal quoted officials close to the investigation as saying several Marines will likely be charged with murder. A separate investigation is examining claims of a cover-up by senior officers.
The incident could deal a more serious blow to US credibility in the Arab and Muslim worlds than did the Abu Ghraib scandal, when American troops tortured Iraqi prisoners.
Human rights groups are already referring to the killings in Haditha as " Iraq's My Lai" after the cold-blooded murder by US soldiers of more than 500 Vietnamese civilians in 1968.
My Lai changed the American public's perception of the Vietnam conflict and criticism is mounting in the US about the conduct of its troops in Iraq, who are placed under increasing strain as attacks on them by insurgents, especially roadside bombs, rise.
Three senior US officers were relieved of their command on 7 April and the actions of about a dozen members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, are understood to be the focus of the investigation.' Lees verder: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article622118.ece
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