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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 11th,
2006 - Group Claims 3 GIs Killed Over Rape-Murders |
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Group Claims 3 GIs Killed
Over Rape-Murders By Robert H. Reid The Associated Press Tuesday, July 11, 2006; 2:12 AM Baghdad, Iraq - An
al-Qaida-linked group claims it killed three U.S. soldiers last month and
mutilated two of their bodies to avenge the rape-slaying of a young Iraqi
woman by troops of the same unit, an institute which monitors extremists Web
sites said Tuesday. The Mujahedeen Shura Council
made the claim in a 4:39 minute video posted on the Internet which included
the mutilated bodies of two of the soldiers attacked June 16 near Youssifiyah
southwest of Baghdad, according to a statement by the SITE Institute. Their
remains were found three days later. The institute released still
pictures from the video showing two of the American dead, one of whom had
been decapitated. According to the institute,
the statement by the insurgent group said the video was released as
"revenge for our sister who was dishonored by a soldier of the same
brigade." Two sergeants are among five
American soldiers charged in the March 12 alleged rape-murder and the killing
her parents and a younger sister. The U.S. military released the identities
of the suspects Monday. A previously discharged
soldier had been arrested in the case last month and charged with rape and
murder. According to the SITE
Institute, the statement by the insurgents said that as soon as fighters
heard of the rape-slaying, "they kept their anger to themselves and
didn't spread the news." "They decided to take
revenge for their sister's honor," the statement said. "With Allah's
help, they captured two soldiers of the same brigade as this dirty
crusader." The Mujahedeen Shura Council
is an umbrella organization of several Islamic extremist groups, including
al-Qaida in Iraq. It claimed responsibility for shooting down a U.S. Apache
helicopter in the Youssifiyah area in April. U.S. investigators had said
there was no evidence linking the deaths of the three soldiers last month to
the alleged rape-slaying. Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V.
Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard are accused of rape and murder and several
other charges as alleged participants. They could face the death penalty if
convicted. A fifth, Sgt. Anthony W.
Yribe, is charged with failing to report the attack but is not alleged to
have been a direct participant. The five will face an
Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, to
determine if they should stand trial. They are charged with
conspiring with former soldier Steven D. Green, who was arrested in the case
last month in North Carolina. Green has pleaded not guilty to one count of
rape and four counts of murder and is being held without bond. The U.S. military spokesman
in Iraq, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, declined to comment further on details
about the attack, saying the investigation continues. "But they obviously had
enough information in the initial investigation to go ahead and charge those
four soldiers all with alleged rape, rape, obstruction of justice,
housebreaking, arson and the other offenses," he told reporters in
Baghdad. Spielman, of Chambersburg,
Pa., is a 2002 graduate of Chambersburg Area Senior High School. His mother, Nancy Hess, told
WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pa., on Monday: "I don't believe the charges and
I'm still proud of him." She said her son always wanted to be a soldier. According to an FBI
affidavit filed in Green's case, he and at least two others targeted the
young woman and her family for a week before the attack, which was not
revealed until witnesses came forward in late June. The soldiers drank alcohol,
abandoned their checkpoint, changed clothes to avoid detection and headed to
the victims' house, about 200 meters (yards) from a U.S. checkpoint in the
"Triangle of Death," a Sunni Arab area south of Baghdad known for
its violence, the affidavit said. The affidavit estimated the
rape victim was about 25. But a doctor at the Mahmoudiya hospital gave her
age as 14. He refused to be identified for fear of reprisals. Green is accused of raping the
woman and killing her and the three other family members, including a girl
estimated to be 5 years old. An official familiar with the investigation told
The Associated Press that Green set fire to the rape victim's body in an
apparent cover-up attempt. Iraqi authorities identified
the rape victim as Abeer Qassim Hamza. The other victims were her father,
Qassim Hamza; her mother, Fikhriya Taha; and her sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza. The March 12 attack was
among the worst in a series of cases of U.S. troops accused of killing and
abusing Iraqi civilians. U.S. officials are concerned
the case will strain relations with Iraq's new government and increase calls
for changes in an agreement that exempts American soldiers from prosecution
in Iraqi courts. Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case, which
comes after a series of allegations that U.S. troops killed and mistreated
Iraqi civilians. © 2006 The Associated Press External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071000457.html |