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CAMP PENDLETON, California - A US Marine pleaded guilty on Thursday to shooting a defenceless Iraqi grandfather dragged from his house in the middle of the night in what his squad informally called "Operation Vigilante."
Cpl. Trent Thomas was charged with murder, kidnapping and other offences in the April 2006 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania, Iraq. According to earlier testimony in the case, Thomas shot the man up to 10 times. Awad was a neighbour of a man Marines had sought to kidnap and kill as a suspected terrorist.
The case is one of a series from the Iraq war in which US military personnel are accused of crimes against Iraqi civilians. Seven Marines and a Navy medic have been charged in the incident.
Thomas said unit leader Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins devised a plan to kidnap and murder a suspected terrorist released from prison, but the unit ended up grabbing a neighbour, Awad, instead.
In a strong, confident voice, Thomas matter-of-factly told the military judge how the unit placed the man by the side of a road, retreated and then returned to create the impression they had discovered a man placing an explosive device.
"I fired several rounds into Awad's body and he was already lying on the ground," Thomas said, adding he used his M-16 rifle. "He was still alive and Sgt. Hutchins came up and did a dead check and finished him off."
He said he acted under a lawful order from his squad leader Hutchins, whom Thomas said fired a final three shots to the Iraqi man's head.
Prior to Thomas, three other Marines and a Navy medic have pleaded guilty, getting relatively light prison sentences of 21 months or less in deals in which they agreed to testify against the others.
Thomas, who wore a khaki service uniform, pleaded guilty to seven charges including unpremeditated murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. He will be sentenced next month at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego.
His maximum sentence will be limited to an amount in the plea deal which had not yet been made public. He said the unit informally called the incident "Operation Vigilante."
In October testimony, Petty Officer Melson Bacos, 21, said Thomas shot seven to 10 rounds into the man's chest. "I felt sick to my stomach," he said.
Thomas, from St. Louis, was serving on his third tour in Iraq. He was given a Purple Heart after being wounded in Falluja during his second tour. He is the father of a little girl and according to an internet posting from his sister Valencia, he is an aspiring Christian singer.
- REUTERS
