Haditha massacre

The Haditha massacre was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States Marines killed 25 unarmed Iraqi civilians. It occurred in the city of Haditha in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. Among the dead were men, women, elderly people and children as young as one year old, who were shot multiple times at close range. The massacre took place after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a convoy, killing a lance corporal and severely injuring two other marines. In retaliation, the marines killed five men from a nearby taxicab and 19 others inside four nearby homes. An initial Marine Corps communique falsely reported that 15 civilians were killed by the bomb's blast and that eight insurgents were subsequently killed by the marines. A Time magazine reporter's questions prompted the US military to open an investigation into the incident. The investigation found evidence that "supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians", according to an anonymous Pentagon official. Three officers were officially reprimanded for failing to properly initially report and investigate the killings. On December 21, 2006, eight marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were charged in connection with the incident. By June 17, 2008, six defendants had their cases dropped and a seventh was found not guilty. The only one of the eight charged to face punishment was Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich. On October 3, 2007, the Article 32 hearing investigating officer recommended that charges of murder be dropped and Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide in the deaths of two women and five children. Further charges of assault and manslaughter were ultimately dropped. Wuterich pled guilty to the only remaining charge, one count of negligent dereliction of duty, and was convicted on January 24, 2012. Wuterich received a rank reduction...