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NEW YORK - A United States Marine charged with murdering 18 unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes he regretted the deaths but would make the same decisions today.
Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich admitted shooting five unarmed Iraqi men in the back in the interview and said his actions were justified because he believed the men had hostile intent toward the marines.
"There is nothing that I can possibly say to make up or make well the deaths of those women and children, and I am absolutely sorry it happened that day," Wuterich said.
"What I did that day, the decision that I made, I would make those decisions again today. Those are decisions that I made in a combat situation and I believe I had to make those decisions."
CBS summarised the interview in a news release.
Four marines have been charged with unpremeditated murder in the killings of two dozen men, women and children on November 19, 2005, in Haditha.
Four marine officers have been charged with other counts including dereliction of duty.
Iraqi witnesses say enraged marines shot the civilians to retaliate for the death of a colleague, who was killed by a roadside bomb hours earlier.
The interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Monday.
- REUTERS
