Eight Marines charged over murder of Iraqis

A US Marine Corps squad leader was charged today with murdering 12 people and ordering other Marines under his command to kill six people during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year.

The squad leader was one of eight Marines charged in the biggest US criminal case involving killings in the war in Iraq.

The others included four officers accused of failures in investigating and reporting the incident, the Marine Corps said.

The highest-ranking defendant, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, was accused of failing to obey an order or regulation, encompassing dereliction of duty.

The squad leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 26, was charged with unpremeditated murder of 18 Iraqi civilians, including six people inside a house that members of his squad cleared with deadly force.

Wuterich also faces one charge of making a false official statement and one charge of soliciting another sergeant to make false official statements.

Wuterich allegedly ordered Marines under his charge to “shoot first and ask questions later” when they entered the house.

The Marines, who all belonged to Kilo Company of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, have been under investigation since March for the deaths.

The Iraqis were killed in the hours following a roadside bomb that rocked a Marine patrol on the morning of November 19 last year. The blast killed one Marine and injured two others.

In the aftermath, five men were shot as they approached the scene in a taxi and others – including women and children – died as Marines went from house to house in the area, clearing homes with grenades and gunfire.