Two US Marine officers in a unit accused of firing indiscriminately at vehicles and pedestrians and killing as many as 19 Afghan civilians in 2007 will not face criminal charges, the military said.

Military prosecutors have granted immunity to at least seven US Marines who may be called to testify at the trial of fellow troops accused over the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

Two US soldiers missing for days from a checkpost have been found dead north of the capital, a senior US army officer said.

A BOMB exploded yesterday near a US military vehicle on the road to Baghdad’s airport, and assailants threw grenades at a US-led convoy, killing an American soldier and two Iraqi civilians.