US soldiers probed over killing of Iraqi family

Five US army soldiers are under investigation for allegedly raping a young woman, then burning her body after killing her and three members of her family, a US military official said today.

The US command announced that Major General James Thurman, commander of coalition troops in Baghdad, had ordered a criminal investigation into the alleged killing of a family of four in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad but gave no further details and did not say how many troops were involved.