US soldiers charged in another Iraqi killing

BAGHDAD - The US military has charged a soldier with voluntary manslaughter for shooting an unarmed Iraqi man in February, the latest of several such cases to come to light in recent weeks.

The military said in a statement that Specialist Nathan Lynn was also accused of obstructing justice, along with a second soldier, for conspiring with a third who prosecutors say placed an assault rifle by the body in an apparent cover-up attempt.

The third man had left the army since the incident, near a US base at Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on February 15 but the second, Sergeant Milton Ortiz, was charged with obstruction of justice, and separate counts of assault and making threats.

"Lynn was charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting an unarmed male Iraqi civilian on February 15 in front of a home where Lynn was pulling security for members of his unit," the military said in its statement.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice distinguishes voluntary manslaughter from murder by saying the former is an unlawful killing "in the heat of sudden passion caused by adequate provocation" while murder is "without justification or excuse".

The announcement came after a week in which 12 Americans were charged with murdering Iraqis and on the day on which Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised that the occupying troops would respect Iraqis' human rights.

As part of a national plan for reconciliation, Maliki's stance on the US troops is aimed partly at rallying support among the Sunni minority opposed to his Shi'ite-led government.

The week's previous murder charges relate to two cases of Iraqis being shot by US troops. Charges are expected but have yet to be brought in the case of 24 civilians killed in November at Haditha. The military is investigating the Marines involved.

US defence officials insist it is a coincidence that so many murder charges have been brought this month when only a handful had been brought in the three previous years of war.

Human rights groups that have criticised the US military's failure to investigate fully previous accusations against its troops in Iraq have suggested, however, that publicity over the Haditha case has made commanders sensitive to Iraqi opinion.

The military said on Sunday local time it had instituted new procedures to reduce civilian deaths, saying about 350 innocent Iraqis were killed by US troops on checkpoint and convoy duty last year.

Ortiz is also accused of putting an unloaded weapon to the head of an Iraqi man on March 8 and threatening to send him to jail. A US military spokesman said that if the third soldier were to be charged he would first have to be recalled to duty.

Lynn and Ortiz, both members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, are at a base in Baghdad preparing for pre-trial hearings that will determine whether they should face a court martial.

- REUTERS