6 US Marines Charged with Assaulting Iraqi Civilians
04 August 2006
Six U.S. Marines have been charged with assaulting several Iraqi civilians in the town of Hamdania in April.
Three of the six men in this case have been charged in a separate case involving the death of a 54-year-old Iraqi man in Hamdania that same month.
The three, Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins, Corporal Trent Thomas and Lance-Corporal Jerry Shumate, Junior, are part of a group of seven Marines accused of removing Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home and shooting him to death.
Investigators say the Marines placed a rifle and shovel next to his body to make it appear he was planting a roadside bomb.
Authorities learned of the alleged assaults during the investigation into Awad's death.
The assault case is the latest involving acts of violence by U.S. servicemen against Iraqi civilians. The military is investigating allegations that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqis in the the town of Haditha.
Four U.S. Army soldiers have been charged in the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl, and the killing of three members of her family.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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