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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 2nd,
2007 - Third GI Charged in Iraq Murder Probe |
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Third GI Charged in Iraq
Murder Probe The Associated Press July 2, 2007 Baghdad - A third U.S.
soldier has been charged in an investigation into alleged attempts to cover
up the deaths of Iraqi civilians by planting weapons to portray them as
combatants, the U.S. military said Monday. Sgt. Evan Vela, of Phoenix,
Idaho, was charged Sunday with one count of premeditated murder, making a
false official statement and obstruction of justice, the military said in a
statement. He was placed in pretrial confinement. Two other soldiers - Staff
Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, of Candler, N.C., and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval, Jr.,
of Laredo, Texas - were charged last week for allegedly killing three Iraqis
and placing weapons on their bodies to make them appear as fighters. Vela is
charged in one of the alleged slayings, but the military statement did not
specify which incident. Military prosecutors say the
killings occurred between April and June near Iskandariyah, a mostly Sunni
Arab city south of Baghdad. All three soldiers are
assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 501st
Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, based at
Fort Richardson, Alaska. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070200910.html |