US major recalls how grenade rolled into tent

A MILITARY hearing opened yesterday for a soldier accused of a deadly grenade attack on his fellow Americans in Kuwait, with a major testifying that he was wounded by a gunshot after a grenade was rolled into his tent.

Sgt. Hasan K. Akbar, of the 101st Airborne Division’s 326th Engineer Battalion, is charged with killing two officers and injuring 14 others in the March 23 attack.

The purpose of the Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, is to determine whether Akbar should be court-martialed. He could face the death penalty if convicted on two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted murder.

The attack on officers from the Fort Campbell-based division’s 1st Brigade happened days before the brigade was scheduled to move into Iraq for “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

Akbar was present at the hearing, looking subdued, as Maj. Kenneth Romane testified.

Romane said he was working on his computer in the tent he shared with other officers around 1 a.m. when he heard footsteps and then a grenade was rolled into the tent.

He was not injured by the grenade. He said he loaded his pistol and stepped outside, and was shot. The single bullet hit both of his hands and his left thigh.

Akbar, 32, has the right to testify on his own behalf at the hearing, but the army has not said whether he was expected to do so.