| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| U.S. Troops Accused of Killing Iraq Family (AGAIN) |
| 2006-06-30 |
| BEIJI, Iraq -- Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her family in Iraq, a U.S. military official told The Associated Press on Friday. The soldiers also allegedly burned the body of the woman they are accused of raping. Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of coalition troops in Baghdad, had ordered a criminal investigation into the alleged killing of a family of four in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, the U.S. command said. It did not elaborate. "The entire investigation will encompass everything that could have happened that evening. We're not releasing any specifics of an ongoing investigation," said military spokesman Maj. Todd Breasseale. "There is no indication what led soldiers to this home. The investigation just cracked open. We're just beginning to dig into the details." However, a U.S. official close to the investigation said at least one of the soldiers, all assigned to the 502nd Infantry Regiment, has admitted his role and has been arrested. Two soldiers from the same regiment were slain this month when they were kidnapped at a checkpoint near Youssifiyah. At least four other soldiers have had their weapons taken away and are confined to Forward Operating Base Mahmoudiyah south of Baghdad. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. The official said the killings appear to be unrelated to the kidnappings but that a soldier felt compelled to report the killings after his fellow soldiers' bodies were found. The killings appeared to have been a "crime of opportunity," the official said. The soldiers had not been attacked by insurgents but had noticed the woman on previous patrols. |
| Posted by:growler |
| #15 The current story is that one soldier has confessed to knowledge of the incident (both pre and post) and a second has confessed to participating. (Probably "standing guard", but that's total speculation on my part.) The AP reporter who broke the story was an embed with the unit. Interestingly, the two soldiers who were subsequently captured, "tried" and butchered in that neighborhood were from the same platoon. |
| Posted by: ghostcat 2006-06-30 22:34 |
| #14 I agree... wait til the evidence is in |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-30 22:30 |
| #13 Frank G, If this is a lie created by Iraqis, it is one thing, but according to the article, one soldier confessed. I'm hoping Washington Post is misinformed (I am being too nice here of course). But it's too early to dismiss this as fabricated. |
| Posted by: sludge 2006-06-30 21:55 |
| #12 Very disturbing story. Very bizarre story. Waiting for facts to come out. |
| Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-06-30 21:07 |
| #11 If true, this is an ugly, ugly situation. The premeditation part is especially disturbing. If they're charged, tried and convicted, the punishment must be severe ... for the sake of everyone afffected, including the rest of our military. I would favor execution, but agree with my wife that they should receive no harsher treatment than the terrorists at Gitmo. |
| Posted by: ghostcat 2006-06-30 21:05 |
| #10 and beyond comprehension. Jeez, the "Iraqis" would have no reason to lie, would they? Perhaps it was an "honor killing" and they wanna collect from the Gringos like every other Iraqi who's had their hands out |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-30 21:03 |
| #9 If true, it's pretty horrible if they watched this girl for a while, planned this, and then raped and murdered her and her family to hide it. I truly hope the soldiers aren't responsible; it would be beyond depressing. |
| Posted by: sludge 2006-06-30 20:18 |
| #8 "Hey, what are you guys doing?" "Oh, just inconspicuously burning a body. Want to help?" |
| Posted by: grb 2006-06-30 16:27 |
| #7 Seafarious - re: "minutemen"... How about "spinitmen", instead? :) |
| Posted by: Angomoper Hupoluth6228 2006-06-30 16:15 |
| #6 Minutemen, John, they're minutemen. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-06-30 16:01 |
| #5 It's bad when you have to fight a hostile, insurgent press as well as terrorists. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-06-30 15:59 |
| #4 Is it my imagination, or have we seen more of these (AM) after Murtha- talking about Hadifa? |
| Posted by: plainslow 2006-06-30 15:11 |
| #3 Many innocent Irakis have been tranformed into Newts. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-06-30 15:04 |
| #2 Applying common sense and the (now lost) standards from the past in times of war, I find reporting unattributed quotes and unverified data out of context in such an important matter simply reprehensible. Allow the investigation to proceed without your drumbeat of anti-Americanism, assholes. The confidence in our military is their target - and they've become unrelenting in their bias and craven attempts to undermine it. WaPo. NYT. Same shit, just different approaches. I used to reserve hate for very personal and very grievous offenses. These media outlets are attacking America in every manner they can dream up, putting us all at risk, however. I see little or no difference between them and other enemies of freedom, now. The offenses are, indeed, grievous - and now I'm learning to hate on the same scale they do. |
| Posted by: Ulavins Clolurt4578 2006-06-30 14:21 |
| #1 Is it me, or does this not make sense? Why would American troops burn a body, even if they had -- which I find highly doubtful -- abused her first? This sounds more the behaviour of the various parties of bad guys roaming the area. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-30 14:06 |