Marines perpetrate atrocity in Iraq?

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Friday May 26, 2006 14:51 by Seán Ryan

24 Iraqi citizens were killed Last November in what is being investigated as a massacre. It now looks as if some very serious prosecutions will take place.

Reports are coming in as I type, that a serious investigation into an alleged massacre in Haditha is gathering momentum. The investigation has thus far established the following to be facts:

"— Early in the morning of November 19, a roadside bomb hit a small convoy of 12 Marines killing Marine Lance Corporal Lance Terrazas. All of the marines belonged to Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 1st Marine Regiment..

— Shortly after the bomb went off, the Marines saw a car approaching and fired, killing five Iraqi men. Military officials say all of them turned out to be unarmed.

— Some of the Marines entered a cluster of nearby homes from where, they later claimed, they had taken enemy fire.

— In the first house, however, they allegedly found only unarmed civilians. Exactly what happened inside is unclear, but by the time they left, six of the civilians were killed, including a three year old boy.

— In a second house, the Marines allegedly found and killed 8 more unarmed civilians.

— A man was allegedly shot by a Marine as he fled one of the houses.

— In still another house, the Marines said they encountered four Iraqi men , including one armed with an AK-47, and another reaching for a weapon in a closet. The Marines allegedly shot and killed all four men. It's unclear to investigators if the AK-47's were found before or after the shooting. "

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2006497&page=1