Did American Marines murder 23 Iraqi civilians?
The US military deny accusations of massive over-reaction when attacked. But video evidence from one incident has led the official story to unravel. By Raymond Whitaker US military investigators are examining allegations that Marines shot unarmed Iraqis, then claimed they were “enemy fighters”, The Independent on Sunday has learned. In the same incident, eyewitnesses say, one man bled to death over a period of hours as soldiers ignored his pleas for help. American military officials in Iraq have already admitted that 15 civilians who died in the incident in the western town of Haditha last November were killed by Marines, and not by a roadside bomb, as had previously been claimed. The only victim of the remotely triggered bomb, it is now conceded, was a 20-year-old Marine, Lance-Corporal Miguel Terrazas, from El Paso, Texas. An inquiry has been launched by the US Navy’s Criminal Investigation Service after the military was presented with evidence that the 15 civilians, including seven
