US launches probe into civilian 'massacre' by Marines

The US military has launched an investigation into claims that American forces shot dead 15 members of two families, including a three year-old-girl, shortly after a roadside bomb killed a US Marine in a western Iraqi town.

The story of the incident, told to the Associated Press news agency by residents, was largely forgotten until last week when the military said it was investigating potential misconduct by Marines after a rebel attack in the town of Haditha, 140 miles north-west of Baghdad on November 19 last year.