US military investigates Iraq deaths

The United States military is conducting a criminal investigation into allegations that US Marines shot and killed 15 Iraqi civilians.

The killings occurred last November, after a roadside bomb explosion in which one Marine was killed and two injured.

At the time it was claimed the civilians died in the blast in the town of Haditha.

But Time magazine forced the US military command in Baghdad to revisit the conclusions of a military report which said the 15 civilians, including three young children, died in the initial explosion.

A preliminary military investigation was launched. It established that the two families were indeed killed by the Marines, though it described the deaths as collateral damage.

Now the case has been referred for criminal investigation by the US Navy to establish whether the 12 Marines involved were guilty of misconduct.