Squad mate in Iraq deaths trial testifies
Source: Agencies |
January 14, 2012, Saturday
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A SQUAD mate of a US Marine sergeant on trial for killing unarmed women and children in Iraq testified on Thursday that if he had to do it again, he would have called in an air strike to level a house where the group gunned down six people, including a man in a wheelchair.
Former Sergeant Hector Salinas testified at the court-martial of Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich that he believed small arms fire had come from the direction of the home shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing a Marine.
He conceded, however, that he did not know at the time that there were women and children in the dwelling.
Wuterich, the squad leader, faces nine counts of manslaughter and other charges stemming from Marine actions that day that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha in 2005. The Marines stormed two homes for 45 minutes, killing unarmed men, women and children. They found no weapons or insurgents, squad members testified.
Salinas testified that he was the first Marine to enter the house after the roadside bomb exploded. He said he shot a figure he saw near the stairs and later learned he had killed an elderly woman.
He said he saw the man in a wheelchair after he went back to the home later. Four other unarmed civilians were killed there. Asked by a defense attorney if he would have done anything differently that day if he had the chance, Salinas said, "I would have just utilized my air to just level the house."
Wuterich's attorneys have said Wuterich believed insurgents were in the home after the explosion.
Military prosecutors have implicated him in 19 of the 24 Iraqi deaths. The Camp Pendleton Marine is the last defendant in one of the biggest criminal cases against US troops from the war. One squad member was acquitted. Six others had their cases dropped. Salinas was never formally charged.
Salinas was one of two squad members who testified on Thursday. Both questioned the testimony given on Wednesday by a fellow Marine who said Wuterich had called for bloodshed of Iraqis if his squad was ever hit by a roadside bomb.
Former Sergeant Hector Salinas testified at the court-martial of Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich that he believed small arms fire had come from the direction of the home shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing a Marine.
He conceded, however, that he did not know at the time that there were women and children in the dwelling.
Wuterich, the squad leader, faces nine counts of manslaughter and other charges stemming from Marine actions that day that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha in 2005. The Marines stormed two homes for 45 minutes, killing unarmed men, women and children. They found no weapons or insurgents, squad members testified.
Salinas testified that he was the first Marine to enter the house after the roadside bomb exploded. He said he shot a figure he saw near the stairs and later learned he had killed an elderly woman.
He said he saw the man in a wheelchair after he went back to the home later. Four other unarmed civilians were killed there. Asked by a defense attorney if he would have done anything differently that day if he had the chance, Salinas said, "I would have just utilized my air to just level the house."
Wuterich's attorneys have said Wuterich believed insurgents were in the home after the explosion.
Military prosecutors have implicated him in 19 of the 24 Iraqi deaths. The Camp Pendleton Marine is the last defendant in one of the biggest criminal cases against US troops from the war. One squad member was acquitted. Six others had their cases dropped. Salinas was never formally charged.
Salinas was one of two squad members who testified on Thursday. Both questioned the testimony given on Wednesday by a fellow Marine who said Wuterich had called for bloodshed of Iraqis if his squad was ever hit by a roadside bomb.
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