Haditha massacre | |
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Part of the Iraq War | |
Location | Haditha, Al Anbar Province, Iraq |
Coordinates | 34°08′23″N 42°22′41″E / 34.13972°N 42.37806°E |
Date | November 19, 2005 |
Attack type | Raids against a vehicle and several nearby houses in response to an IED attack against U.S. Marines |
Deaths | 24 Iraqi civilians |
Perpetrators | United States Marine Corps, specifically the K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines |
The Haditha massacre was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians.[1][2] The killings occurred in the city of Haditha in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. Among the dead were men, women, elderly people and children as young as three years old, who were shot multiple times at close range. The massacre took place after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a convoy, killing a lance corporal and severely injuring two other marines. In response the marines executed five men from a nearby taxicab and 19 others inside four nearby homes.
An initial Marine Corps communique falsely reported that 15 civilians were killed by the bomb's blast and that eight insurgents were subsequently killed by the marines.[1][3] A Time magazine reporter's questions prompted the US military to open an investigation into the incident. The investigation found evidence that "supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians", according to an anonymous Pentagon official.[4] Three officers were officially reprimanded for failing to properly initially report and investigate the killings. On December 21, 2006, eight marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were charged in connection with the incident.
By June 17, 2008, six defendants had their cases dropped and a seventh was found not guilty.[5] The exception was Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich. On October 3, 2007, the Article 32 hearing investigating officer recommended that charges of murder be dropped and Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide in the deaths of two women and five children.[6] Further charges of assault and manslaughter were ultimately dropped. Wuterich was convicted of one count of negligent dereliction of duty on January 24, 2012.[7][8] Wuterich received a rank reduction and pay cut but avoided jail time.[9][10] Iraqis expressed disbelief and voiced outrage after the six-year U.S. military prosecution ended with none of the marines sentenced to incarceration. A lawyer for the victims stated "this is an assault on humanity" before adding that he, as well as the government of Iraq, might bring the case to international courts.[11]