Intelligence officers accused over Iraqi general's death

The US military plans to charge two intelligence soldiers over the suffocation death of an Iraqi general during an interrogation last autumn, according to an American newspaper report.

Charges of negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter will be filed against Chief Warrant Officers Lewis Welshofer and Jeff Williams, The Denver Post reported, citing a Pentagon document obtained by the newspaper.

Welshofer has said he did nothing wrong. He is accused of sitting on the chest of Iraqi Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush and covering his mouth while the air force commander was wrapped in a sleeping bag, according to the document.

Mowhoush, 57, died during interrogation on November 26 at Qaim, Iraq. His death certificate lists homicide as the cause. The US military has said Mowhoush died from asphyxiation due to smothering and chest compression.

The CIA said one of its agents may also have been involved and referred the case to the US Justice Department for investigation. Two other soldiers face dereliction-of-duty charges in the interrogation, the newspaper reported. They were not named in the Pentagon document.

Welshofer and Williams were reprimanded by their commander earlier this year and were forbidden from conducting further interrogations, the Post reported.