A US Marine Corps squad leader has been charged with murdering 12 people and ordering other Marines under his command to kill six people during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year.

A US Marine Corps squad leader was charged today with murdering 12 people and ordering other Marines under his command to kill six people during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year.

A US Marine Corps squad leader was charged today with 13 murder counts stemming from the killings of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year, his attorney said.