Photos are said to show Iraqi victims

By Tony Perry and Julian E. Barnes

05/27/06 "Baltimore Sun" -- -- WASHINGTON // Photographs taken by a Marine intelligence team have convinced investigators that a Marine unit killed up to 24 unarmed Iraqis, some of them "execution style," in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha after a roadside bomb killed one American last November, officials close to the investigation said yesterday.

The pictures are said to show wounds to the upper bodies of the victims, who included several women and six children. Some were shot in the head and some in the back, according to congressional and defense officials.

One government official said the pictures show that infantry Marines from Camp Pendleton "suffered a total breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results."

The case may be the most serious allegations of war crimes in Iraq by U.S. troops. Marine officers have long been worried that Iraq's bloody insurgency could prompt such an overzealous reaction by combat teams. An investigation by an Army general into the Nov. 19 incident is to be delivered soon to the top operational commander in Iraq. A separate criminal investigation is also under way and could lead to charges ranging from murder to dereliction of duty.

Both investigations are centered on a dozen Marines from the 3rd battalion, 1st Marine regiment, 1st Marine division. The battalion was on its third deployment to Iraq went the killings occurred.

Most of the fatal shots appear to have been fired by only a few of the Marines, possibly a four-man "fire team" led by a sergeant, said officials with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The same sergeant is suspected of filing a false report playing down the number of Iraqis killed, saying they were killed by an insurgent bomb and that Marines entered the Iraqis' homes in search of gunmen firing at them. All aspects of his story are contradicted by pictures, statements by Marines to investigators and an inspection of the houses involved, officials said.

Other Marines may face criminal charges for not stopping the carnage or for not making accurate reports. Nineteen of the dead Iraqis were in three or four houses that Marines stormed. Five others were killed near a vehicle.

The intelligence team took the pictures shortly after the shooting stopped. Such teams are typically assigned to collect information on insurgents after firefights or other military engagements.

Investigators and top officers of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which oversees Marine infantry, aviation and support units in Iraq have viewed the pictures.

The Nov. 19 incident began when a roadside bomb attached to a large propane canister exploded as Marines passed through the town on the Euphrates River. Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, who was driving a Humvee, was killed instantly, and two other Marines were wounded.

Marines quickly determined that the bomb was a "line-of-sight" explosive that would have required someone to detonate it. Marines and Iraqi forces searched houses and other structures in the narrow, dusty streets. Jets dropped 500-pound bombs, and a drone aircraft circled overhead.

Time magazine, in a report published in late March, quoted witnesses including a 9-year-old girl, Eman Waleed, who said she saw Marines kill her grandfather and grandmother and that other adults in the house died shielding her and her 8-year-old brother, Abdul Rahman.

An elder in Haditha later went to Marine officials at the battalion's headquarters to complain of wanton killings. The Marines involved in the shooting initially reported that they had become embroiled in a firefight with insurgents after the explosion. However, evidence that emerged later contradicted that version.

"There wasn't a gunfight, there were no pock marked walls," a congressional aide said.

"The wounds indicated execution-style" shootings, said a Defense Department official who had been briefed on the contents of the photos.

The Marine Corps backed off its initial explanation, and the investigations were launched after Time published its account. Some lawmakers are asking the Marine Corps why an investigation wasn't launched earlier if the intelligence team's pictures taken immediately after the incident contradicted the squad's story. The pictures from the intelligence team would probably have been given to the battalion intelligence officer, and they should have raised questions immediately, one congressional aide said.

The intelligence teams are typically Marine Corps reservists, often police officers or other law enforcement officials in civilian life, who are embedded with active duty battalions or regiments.

Such questions were put to Marine Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee during a series of individual briefings over the past week. One focus of the administrative investigation by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell is aimed at finding out how high up the Marine Corps chain of command the misreporting reached.

Military officials say they believe the delay in beginning the investigation was a result of the squad's initial efforts to cover up what happened. Both military and congressional sources said there was no indication that the members of the intelligence team did anything improper or delayed reporting their findings.

"They are the guys that probably provided the conclusive, demonstrative evidence that what happened wasn't as others had described," said a second congressional staffer.

The Marine Corps apologized to the families of several of those killed and made payments to compensate them for their losses. The families, however, have denied permission to have the bodies exhumed for investigation.

Rep. John Kline, a Minnesota Republican who is a retired Marine colonel, said there was clearly an attempt to cover up the incident by the Marines involved. But he said he did not think the Marine command was slow in investigating the incident.

As Marines moved across the desert into Iraq on March 19, 2003, each Marine received a signed statement from then-Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, exhorting his troops to fight vigorously but to treat noncombatants with "decency ... chivalry and soldierly compassion."

"Engage your brain before you engage your weapon," he said.

Hagee left for Iraq on Thursday to sternly remind Marines that harming noncombatants violates Marine policy and numerous laws governing warfare. He plans the same message to troops at Camp Pendleton and other Marine bases when he returns.

Tony Perry and Julian E. Barnes write for the Los Angeles. The Times' Peter contributed to this article.

Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

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