Soldiers charged with murder

Salahuddin, Iraq

The U.S. Army has charged three members of its elite 101st Airborne Division with murder, in connection with the deaths of three Iraqi prisoners last month. The three—Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard, Spc. William Hunsaker, and Pfc. Corey Clagett—are also accused of threatening to kill a fellow soldier if he told anyone about the slayings. A Pentagon official said the soldiers allegedly released the detainees on purpose and then shot them, claiming they were trying to escape. The three Iraqis were civilians, the Pentagon said, captured during a joint U.S.-Iraqi anti-insurgency operation in the Sunni heartland. The three Americans are in custody awaiting a hearing to determine if enough evidence exists for a court martial. If convicted of murder, they would face the death penalty.

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