JayshAllah
11th May 2007, 01:57 PM
Haditha marine 'watched superior kill surrendering civilians'
Mark Oliver and agencies
Thursday May 10, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
A US marine told a court yesterday that he had "pissed" on the head of one of 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit and watched a superior officer kill five Iraqis as they tried to surrender.
Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz made the admission at a pre-trial hearing ahead of a series of military trials over the killings and alleged cover-up at Haditha, 120 miles west of Baghdad, in November 2005.
He said he knew urinating on the dead Iraqi was wrong but was enraged after one of his colleagues, Lance Corporal "TJ" Miguel Terrazas, had been torn apart by a roadside bomb.
"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry TJ was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head," Sgt Dela Cruz said.
The Haditha killings have prompted the biggest US criminal case involving civilian deaths in the Iraq conflict. A total of seven US marines face charges, including three marines who have been charged with murder.
Sgt Dela Cruz was initially charged with murder but the prosecution dropped all charges against him last month and he agreed to give evidence with immunity.
To read the rest: The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2076586,00.html)
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I seek refuge in the Lord of the Worlds. Ya Allah, deliver us!
Mark Oliver and agencies
Thursday May 10, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
A US marine told a court yesterday that he had "pissed" on the head of one of 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit and watched a superior officer kill five Iraqis as they tried to surrender.
Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz made the admission at a pre-trial hearing ahead of a series of military trials over the killings and alleged cover-up at Haditha, 120 miles west of Baghdad, in November 2005.
He said he knew urinating on the dead Iraqi was wrong but was enraged after one of his colleagues, Lance Corporal "TJ" Miguel Terrazas, had been torn apart by a roadside bomb.
"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry TJ was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head," Sgt Dela Cruz said.
The Haditha killings have prompted the biggest US criminal case involving civilian deaths in the Iraq conflict. A total of seven US marines face charges, including three marines who have been charged with murder.
Sgt Dela Cruz was initially charged with murder but the prosecution dropped all charges against him last month and he agreed to give evidence with immunity.
To read the rest: The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2076586,00.html)
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I seek refuge in the Lord of the Worlds. Ya Allah, deliver us!