WASHINGTON (AP): A Marine squad that had
just endured casualties from a roadside bombing ordered five
unarmed Iraqi civilians out of a taxi, and the squad leader shot
them, eyewitnesses say in a new report obtained by The
Washington Post.
The report by the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service, which reveals previously undisclosed details about the
incident, says a white taxi happened upon the scene shortly
after the explosion. Witnesses told investigators the Marines'
squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, ordered the
passengers out of the car.
The Post, in its Saturday editions, said naval
investigators found that the defenseless Iraqis were then shot
one by one by Wuterich as they stood next to the vehicle and
about 10 feet from Wuterich.
Another Marine allegedly fired shots into the
victims' bodies as they lay on the ground.
"They didn't even try to run away," according to
one witness, a young Iraqi soldier working with the Marine
squad. "We were afraid from Marines and we saw them behaving
like crazy. They were yelling and screaming."
Four Marines have been charged in the deaths of
24 civilians, including women and children, that occurred
immediately after a bombing in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, killed
one Marine and injured two others. In addition, four officers
who were not there during the killings but were accused of
failures in investigating and reporting the deaths have been
charged.
The killings have led to the biggest U.S.
criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq
war.
After the taxi passengers were shot, the report
found, the Marines raided nearby houses, firing
indiscriminately, using both grenades and guns, in a bloody,
door-to-door sweep, killing 14 unarmed inhabitants, in just 10
minutes.
One 13-year-old girl was the lone survivor in
the second house, losing five family members, including her
mother and 3-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother.
"He fired and killed everybody. The American
fired and killed everybody," Safah Yunis Salem told
investigators.
The four Marines charged last month with murder
for the Haditha deaths are: Wuterich; Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz;
Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt; and Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum.
They all face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Defense attorneys have disputed the idea that
the shootings were in revenge for the roadside bombing, saying
their clients were doing what they had been trained to do:
responding to a perceived threat with legitimate force.
Navy investigators interviewed hundreds of
witnesses, including Marines, Iraqi soldiers and civilians. The
Post said the report is sometimes fragmented and contains
conflicting testimony of the events that day.