The military announced yesterday that it will launch a criminal investigation into the latest potential war crime by U.S. troops in Iraq. And for the second time in six months, the focus of the probe is a Camp Pendleton unit.
The investigation will center on whether Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment unjustifiably killed an Iraqi civilian April 26 in Hamandiyah, west of Baghdad.
“(It) will determine the number of Marines allegedly involved,” said 1st Lt. Michelle Lunato, a military spokeswoman in Iraq.
Some Iraqis informed Marine leaders of the death on May 1, according to a statement released yesterday by Multi-National Force West.
“A preliminary investigation ... found sufficient information existed to recommend a criminal investigation,” the statement said.
Marine Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, commander of multinational forces in western Iraq, then asked the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to conduct the full probe.
Marines allegedly involved have been returned to the United States. Camp Pendleton officials would not confirm yesterday if the suspects were being held on the base.
This is the second time since November that Camp Pendleton Marines serving in Iraq have become subjects of a criminal investigation.
In March, the military announced that it was looking into allegations that Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment killed a number of Iraqi civilians in November after a roadside bomb fatally wounded a Marine from that unit.
The death of Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, of El Paso, Texas, while Marines patroled Haditha, in western Iraq, allegedly sparked a rampage by the Marines. The troops allegedly killed men, women and children.
Details of the incident went unpublicized until Time magazine reported in March that human-rights advocates had accused the Marines of the killings. At the time, the military responded by saying it had opened an inquiry and acknowledged that 15 Iraqi civilians were killed.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said the Haditha attack had actually killed nearly twice as many people. It's now believed that 24 people were killed.
In April, three officers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment were relieved of duty because of their alleged connections to the Haditha deaths and purported failures in leadership.
The officers are: Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commanding officer of the battalion; Capt. James S. Kimber, commanding officer of the battalion's Company I; and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell, commanding officer of the battalion's Company K.
No troops, including the officers, have been charged in the Haditha incident.
Because both battalions under investigation are based at Camp Pendleton, it's considered likely that any military court proceedings would take place on the base.
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
