US army captain faces court martial for killing

A US army tank company commander accused of killing a member of a militia led by a radical Shiite cleric in Iraq will be court martialed, the US army said today.

Following the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury investigation, 1st Armoured Division commander Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey decided to go ahead with the court martial of Capt. Rogelio Maynulet, division spokesman Maj. Michael Indovina said in a statement.

He will be tried on charges of assault with intent to commit murder and dereliction of duty.

The charges stem from a May 21 incident near Kufa in Iraq when Maynulet was leading his tank company on a patrol.

They came across a BMW car believed to be carrying militiamen loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and a chase ensued. US soldiers fired at the vehicle, wounding the driver and passenger.

During the hearing in Germany, a fellow officer testified that Maynulet told him a medic said the driver, who had a severe head wound, was beyond hope and that he shot him out of compassion.

The killing was caught on video by a US drone surveillance aircraft, and the footage was played back during the so-called Article 32 hearings after the public and press were removed from the courtroom.

The hearing officer said the footage was being kept classified because it could reveal the US army’s capabilities in Iraq.

No dates have been set for arraignment or trial, and no venue has been chosen, Indovina said in his statement. The Article 32 hearings were held in Hanau, near Frankfurt.