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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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September 15th, 2006 - Soldiers
Charged in Separate Murders in Iraq Returned to U.S. |
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Soldiers Charged in Separate
Murders in Iraq Returned to U.S. By Associated Press Friday, September 15, 2006 - Updated: 04:00 PM EST Fort Campbell, Kentucky -
Eight soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division who have been charged with
murdering Iraqis in two separate incidents have been returned to the United
States to await a decision on whether they will be court martialed, an
official said Friday. Four soldiers charged with
raping and murdering an Iraqi teenager and slaying her family returned on
Monday and are being held in pretrial confinement away from Fort Campbell,
base spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said. A fifth soldier charged with
not reporting the attack has been restricted to the base, she said. Four soldiers charged with
the murder of three detainees returned before Monday, but Tyler could not be
more specific about the date. Three of those soldiers are in pretrial
confinement away from the base while the fourth is restricted to base. The return of the soldiers
follows the end of their Article 32 hearings held in Iraq. The 101st Airborne
Division is wrapping up its second deployment during the Iraq war, and the
command was marking its official return to the base during a ceremony Friday. A U.S. Army investigator has
recommended courts martials for Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez,
Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard in the March 12 rape-murder,
and they could face the death penalty if convicted. The four soldiers, all
assigned to the division’s 502nd Infantry Regiment, are charged with raping
14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in her family’s home in Mahmoudiya, about
20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad, then killing her along with her
parents and her younger sister. Military prosecutors say the four set the teenager’s
body on fire in order to hide their crime. Another soldier, Sgt.
Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not
alleged to have been a direct participant. The soldier alleged to have
planned the attack, Pfc. Steven D. Green, was discharged from the Army due to
a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known. He
was arrested in June shortly after the allegations became known. He has
pleaded not guilty to rape and murder charges. An al-Qaida-linked group
claimed it killed three other members of the 101st Airborne Division in
retaliation for the rape-slaying. In a separate case, Pfc.
Corey R. Clagett, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard
and Spc. Juston R. Graber are accused of murder in the killing of three Iraqi
men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60
miles (100 kilometers) north of Baghdad. The soldiers are all from
the 101st Airborne Division’s 187th Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Tyler said Graber is the
soldier who is being restricted to base. © Copyright 2006 Associated
Press. All rights reserved. External link:
http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=157723 |