US: A military investigation into the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November found evidence that contradicted claims by US marines that the victims were killed by a roadside bomb, according to the New York Times.
President George W Bush said yesterday that any marines found guilty of wrongdoing in Haditha would be punished.
"I am troubled by the initial news stories," he said. "I am mindful there is a thorough investigation going on. If in fact laws were broken there will be punishment."
Col Gregory Watt, a military officer based in Baghdad, launched a preliminary investigation in February, following a report the previous month in Time magazine that questioned the marines' account of the incident.
Col Watt found that death certificates showed that all the Iraqi victims had gunshot wounds, mostly to the head and chest, and he questioned whether marines followed military rules for identifying threats when they attacked houses in Haditha.
November's incident, which followed the death of a marine in a roadside bomb attack, is now the subject of two full-scale military inquiries, one of which is looking into whether marines attempted to cover up the events at Haditha. Human rights groups have claimed that the Iraqi civilians, who included women and young children, were killed in an unprovoked attack by marines.
Col Watt also investigated cash payments totalling $38,000 (€29,600) made to the victims' relatives within weeks of the shootings. Relatives of 15 of the victims received $2,500 (€1,9470) each, along with two payments of $250 (€195) for children who were injured.
The other nine victims were deemed to have committed hostile acts, making their relatives ineligible for compensation.
The new Iraqi ambassador to the United States, Samir al-umaidaie, said there appeared to have been other killings of civilians by marines in Haditha, where some of his family live. He said marines killed his cousin during a house-to-house search in the town last summer.
"I believe he was killed intentionally," Mr al-Sumaidaie said. "I believe that he was killed unnecessarily.""
The White House said this week that Mr Bush first heard about the Haditha incident after Time started its investigation in January. Mr Bush said yesterday that he had discussed the allegations with Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"He's a proud marine and nobody is more concerned about these allegations than the Marine Corps," the president said.
"The Marine Corps is full of honourable people who understand the rules of war. If in fact these allegations are true, the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that that culture - that proud culture - will be reinforced and that those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished."
If the allegations about Haditha are true, it will be the worst atrocity committed by US troops since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Some US commentators have compared Haditha to the 1968 massacre at My Lai in Vietnam, when US soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed civilians, mostly women and children.
Once the military investigation is completed, probably later this month, a senior marine commander in Iraq must decide whether to press charges of murder or other violations of the uniform code of military justice.
A joint Iraqi-US security body said yesterday that US forces had killed "by mistake" two women who were en route to a maternity hospital north of Baghdad.
News of the deaths came a day after Iraq's prime minister said his patience was wearing thin with "excuses" from US troops that they kill civilians by "mistake".
An incident report by the joint body of the Iraqi army and US forces in Salahaddin province said the two women were shot and killed in the small town of al- Mutasim on Tuesday.
"US forces killed two women by mistake . . . when they were heading to a maternity hospital in a taxi," it said. A police source said the driver of the car was wounded.
The US military said a car had entered a "clearly marked prohibited area" near an observation post, it had failed to stop and shots were fired to disable it.
