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Unarmed And Wounded POW Shot In The Head By U.S. Marine

- WARNING -

This video contains course language,
disturbing images of dead bodies in the aftermath of combat and graphic images of
a man being shot dead.

See Also: Take No Prisoners & I have just witnessed a murder on my TV screen  

11/16/04 TRANSCRIPT: 

NORMAN HERMANT: This is the what the fighting looks like in Fallujah.

Buildings are the front line.

It's in this environment that a US Marine unit approached a mosque on
Saturday.

This footage was filmed by an American journalist documenting the
fighting.

AMERICAN JOURNALIST: These are the guys from yesterday.

These are the wounded that they never picked up.

NORMAN HERMANT: The journalist can clearly be heard saying these are
wounded from a previous battle the day before.

They had been left there, clearly unarmed.

US MARINE 1: (Shouts) He's fuckin' fakin' he's dead!

US MARINE 2: Yeah!

He's breathing!

US MARINE 1: He's fakin' he's fuckin' dead!

NORMAN HERMANT: "He's dead now," a voice says after the man is shot.

US MARINE: (Shouts) Hey!

This one's still alive!

NORMAN HERMANT: The marines are again told these men were in the mosque
yesterday.

One survivor pleads for help.

"Please," he says, yesterday I was shot over there and talked to all of
you on camera.

I am one of the guys from this whole group.

I gave you information."

The Marine Corps says it's important to view this shooting in the
context of the conditions in Fallujah.

Not far from where the incident took place, a marine was reported
killed by booby-trapped body found in a house.

Still, marine officers say that doesn't justify killing unarmed
insurgents.

LT COL BOB MILLER, US MARINE CORPS: Enemy wounded -- and, in this case,
insurgents -- who don't pose a threat, ah, would not be considered
hostile generally.

I think that's a fair statement.

NORMAN HERMANT: The US military is investigating the shooting and the
marine involved has been pulled off the battlefield.

If it's determined an unarmed wounded insurgent was shot dead, it would
be a clear violation of the Geneva Convention.

LT GENERAL JOHN SATTLER, US MARINE COMMANDER: Let me make it perfectly
clear -- we follow the law of armed conflict and we hold ourselves to a high
standard of accountability.

NORMAN HERMANT: This isn't the first time concerns have been raised
about illegal combat killings in Fallujah.

The end of this shootout last week provoked protests as well.

It appears as if a wounded insurgent had been gunned down.

These shootings not only raise legal concerns, they may pose a military
problem for multinational forces as well.

There's a risk if insurgents believe they'll be killed if wounded,
they'll never surrender.

By fighting on to the death, they may believe they have nothing to
lose.

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