[Marxism] Dog bites man

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

June 30, 2006
U.S. Troops Accused of Killing Iraq Family
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 10:20 a.m. ET

BEIJI, Iraq (AP) -- Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for
allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her
family in Iraq, a U.S. military official told The Associated Press on Friday.

The soldiers also allegedly burned the body of the woman they are accused
of raping.

Maj. Gen. James D. 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, the U.S. command said. It did not
elaborate.

''The entire investigation will encompass everything that could have
happened that evening. We're not releasing any specifics of an ongoing
investigation,'' said military spokesman Maj. Todd Breasseale.

''There is no indication what led soldiers to this home. The investigation
just cracked open. We're just beginning to dig into the details.''

However, a U.S. official close to the investigation said at least one of
the soldiers, all assigned to the 502nd Infantry Regiment, has admitted his
role and has been arrested. Two soldiers from the same regiment were slain
this month when they were kidnapped at a checkpoint near Youssifiyah.

At least four other soldiers have had their weapons taken away and are
confined to Forward Operating Base Mahmoudiyah south of Baghdad. The
official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
case.

The official said the killings appear to be unrelated to the kidnappings
but that a soldier felt compelled to report the killings after his fellow
soldiers' bodies were found.

The killings appeared to have been a ''crime of opportunity,'' the official
said. The soldiers had not been attacked by insurgents but had noticed the
woman on previous patrols.

------

AP correspondent Ryan Lenz is embedded with the 101st Airborne Division in
Beiji, Iraq. He was previously embedded with the 502nd Infantry Regiment in
Mahmoudiyah.

--

www.marxmail.org


________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism