A New York Times report on Friday revealed that the U.S. Marines involved in the horrific massacre that took place last November in the Iraqi town of Haditha may have destroyed the evidence relating to the killing of 24 innocent civilians in one of the most appalling crimes involving the U.S. occupation troops in Iraq.
The story posted on the Times' Web site last night said that the marine unit's logbook, which was supposed to detail the unit’s activities, was missing pages from the day of the killings, adding that the videotape taken by an unmanned drone aircraft had been withheld from investigators.
The report also challenged allegations that at least one of the shot Iraqis had been brandishing an AK-47 machine gun. Investigators were never able to find such weapon at the scene of the crime, the paper said.
When the Nov. 19, 2005 massacre took place, the Marines claimed that 15 Iraqi civilians had been killed by a makeshift roadside bomb and in crossfire between the U.S. occupation forces and Iraqi “insurgents.”
But based on accounts from survivors and human rights groups, Time Magazine reported in March that the killings of 24 innocent civilians, including women and children, were deliberate acts by the Marines.
Videotape shot by an Iraqi journalism student shortly after the U.S. Marines carried out their crime in Haditha last year showed shrouded bodies lined up in bullet-riddled buildings.
Also death certificates proved that most of the dead were killed in execution-style with point-blank shots to the back of the head.
In one scene, a child called Safa Younis appeared describing how she survived the massacre by hiding between the dead bodies of her mother and siblings; pretending to be dead.
"The Americans knocked at the door. My father went to open it. They shot him dead from behind the door, and then they shot him again after they opened the door," the girl said.
The army ordered criminal investigation into the incident, a year after the release of the Times Magazine report.
According to details uncovered by The New York Times in its latest report, 10 women and children were among the dead, as well as an old man in a wheelchair.
The Times story is attributed to two Defense Department officials.
The report quoted the officials as saying an investigative report faults Marine officers for not investigating the killings, concluding that the commanders created a climate that minimized the importance of Iraqi lives.
November 19 massacre by the U.S. Marines was one of several that emerged recently in which U.S. occupation soldiers reportedly killed Iraqi civilians in cold-blooded attacks.
A New York Times report on Friday revealed that the U.S. Marines involved in the horrific massacre that took place last November in the Iraqi town of Haditha may have destroyed the evidence relating to the killing of 24 innocent civilians in one of the most appalling crimes involving the U.S. occupation troops in Iraq.
Also death certificates proved that most of the dead were killed in execution-style with point-blank shots to the back of the head.
They're examining several different aspects, including video from one of the drones that captured the event. I was not aware that the men were "shot in the back of the head, execution style" but I will definately attempt to confirm that report. Did Al Jazeera say who signed the death certificates? Or is this man forced to hide his identity for fear of reprisal?
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