US marine acquitted of covering up killings of 24 Iraqis

A military jury acquitted a US Marine intelligence officer of charges that he tried to help cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis, including women and children.

Cheers erupted in Camp Pendleton, California as the seven-officer panel cleared First Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, who was the first of three Marines to be tried in the biggest US criminal case involving Iraqi deaths linked to the war.

The verdict came just five hours after deliberations began.

Grayson was not at the scene of the killings on November 19, 2005, in Haditha. He was accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from a digital camera and laptop computer.

Grayson said he refused a deal early in the case that would have reduced charges and kept him out of jail.