US Army Admits Civilian Shootings in Iraq

Green to be jailed for life for raping girl, killing her family

(NEWSER) - A former US soldier convicted of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her and her family has been spared the death penalty after a civilian jury failed to come to an agreement on his punishment, reports USA Today. Steven Green, 24, will be formally sentenced to life in prison without parole this fall. His lawyers had urged the jury not to sentence him to death, arguing that he came from a broken home and had a brain injury. More»

Sgt. John Russell was asked to seek help

(NEWSER) - The US Army today identified Sgt. John Russell as the man being held in the shooting deaths of five soldier at a stress clinic on a US base in Baghdad yesterday, CNN reports, as details of the assault emerged. Commanders had asked Russell, a 44-year-old Texan on his third tour in Iraq, to seek counseling and took the rare step of confiscating his weapon, the Washington Post adds. Russell was escorted to the clinic, but on arrival got into a verbal altercation with staff and was told to leave. More»

(NEWSER) - A US soldier has been charged today with killing five in a shooting at the stress clinic at an American base in Baghdad today, the AP now reports; earlier bulletins said the shooter died of self-inflicted wounds. A US officer said the clinic is for soldiers seeking relief from combat stress, but couldn’t confirm if the dead were other soldiers or clinic workers. More»

Killings were retribution for American casualties

(AP) - Three soldiers have been charged with murder for their alleged role in the killing of four Iraqis last year, the US Army said today. The Iraqi men were blindfolded, shot in the head, and dumped in a Baghdad canal around April 2007 in retribution for casualties suffered by the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, Army officials said. More»

7 militants launch assault on Iraq military HQ

(NEWSER) - A week after President Obama declared an end to fighting by US troops in Iraq, American soldiers battled attackers at Baghdad's military headquarters yesterday. Dozens of people were injured and 12 killed. No Americans were injured. It was the first fighting involving US troops since the formal declaration of the end of combat last month. The attack, launched by just seven militants, was the second on the key site in two weeks, and highlighted continuing problems with Iraqi security forces. Two of the militants managed to fight their way inside the compound, and were killed only after they ran out of ammo and detonated their own suicide bombs, AP reports. More»