US soldiers charged with deaths of prisoners

THE US Army has charged three soldiers in connection with the murders of three Iraqi men who were in military custody in Iraq in early May, the military said yesterday.

The Multinational Corps-Iraq said three members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the deaths of three male detainees during an operation near Thar Thar Canal in northern Salahuddin province on May 9.

“A non-commissioned officer and two soldiers each have been charged with violating several articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice,” an announcement said.

It added that “on the day the alleged murders occurred, the unit commander ordered an inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three detainees”.

It said that a Criminal Investigation Command investigation began on May 17 and “is ongoing”.

Once charged, defendants have the right to an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury investigation.

Meanwhile, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed yesterday that it had kidnapped two American soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad, where 8,000 Iraqi and US troops were conducting a massive search.

The umbrella group, called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said it was holding the two privates — one from Texas and the other from Oregon — as well as four Russian diplomats kidnapped June 3 in Baghdad. It also claimed to have killed a fifth Russian.

The message, which could not be authenticated, appeared on an Islamic website known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.

US officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the two soldiers, who disappeared Friday evening following an insurgent attack that also killed a soldier, were kidnapped.

During the search for the missing Americans, US spokesman Major General William Caldwell also said the military killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 others in fighting that wounded seven US servicemen.

The web posting said: “Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya.” It did not identify the soldiers.

The Defence Department identified the missing men as Pfc Kristian Menchaca, aged 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc Thomas L Tucker, aged 25, of Madras, Oregon, and the dead soldier as Specialist David J Babineau, aged 25, of Springfield, Massachussetts.

Gunmen kidnapped the four Russian diplomats near their embassy in Baghdad’s Mansour district after firing on their car and killing an embassy employee.

“God has enabled the lions of monotheism to arrest four Russian diplomats in Iraq and kill the fifth,” said a statement from the group on the same site. It condemned Russian actions in Chechnya and criticised its presence in Baghdad.

The Mujahedeen Shura Council is a grouping of several insurgent forces, including al-Qaida in Iraq. Former insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi helped create the council in January, apparently to give an Iraqi face to his movement, made up mainly of foreign fighters.

Fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned drones, boats and dive teams are being used to find the two men, Maj Gen Caldwell said. He did not comment on whether they had been seized by insurgents, saying only they were listed as “duty status and whereabouts unknown”.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the soldiers appeared to have been taken prisoner.