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US Soldiers in Afghanistan Took Home 'Finger Trophies'

'Kill team' murdered Afghan civilians for sport, say investigators

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 9, 2010 3:08 AM CDT | Updated Sep 9, 2010 5:06 AM CDT

(Newser) – A secret "kill team" of US soldiers in Afghanistan murdered civilians for sport and kept their fingers as trophies, according to Army investigators. Prosecutors have charged members of an American infantry brigade with some of the most serious war crimes to surface in the Afghanistan war. Five of the soldiers allegedly murdered three Afghan men for fun in three separate incidents, while seven others covered up the killings, the Guardian reports.

A new recruit joining the brigade exposed the killings when he complained to superiors about other abuses by the kill team members, who he said smoked hash stolen from civilians. They later assaulted the recruit to punish him for reporting their behavior, according to officials. The sport killings apparently began after a new sergeant arrived at the base from Iraq last November, boasting about how easy it had been in Iraq to get away with murdering civilians, according to witnesses.

US and Afghan Army soldiers patrol in southern Afghanistan in the region surrounding Kandahar where officials says the kill team operated.
US and Afghan Army soldiers patrol in southern Afghanistan in the region surrounding Kandahar where officials says the "kill team" operated.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
A US soldier patrols last month in southern Afghanistan, in the volatile region surrounding Kandahar where the kill team operated.
A US soldier patrols last month in southern Afghanistan, in the volatile region surrounding Kandahar where the "kill team" operated.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 21 comments
mehrheit
Sep 9, 2010 6:27 PM CDT
Can we bring the troops home yet? (was I censored the first time? Why?) Guardian article for overview, but also 45 pages (zipped pdf) of charging sheets available at cryptome.org main page, or direct download at http://cryptome.org/dodi/afhan-kill-thugs.zip (2.2MB). This is some sick stuff. Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, the "leader" of the "kill team" is charged with: + conspiracy to commit murder + 3 counts of premeditated murder, + possessing finger bones, leg bones, and a tooth from the corpses + gathering claymores, RPG and mortar rounds, fragmentation grenades for "personal use" + assault and battery of the witness, + intimidation and threats against the witness and a co-conspirator, Looks like Staff Sgt. David D Bram strangled the witness while a whole lot of people beat him and one spit in his face. WTF?!
Apland
Sep 9, 2010 12:01 PM CDT
I feel bad for the families of these troops, even if these MEN didn't do it.
Mia
Sep 9, 2010 11:53 AM CDT
Sociopaths

 
Afghanistan • war crimes • murder • Kandahar • US Army • civilians • Afghanistan war • Afghanistan casualties • Kill Team

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