A prominent US Congressman has claimed that US forces killed at least 30 Iraqi civilians "in cold blood" during an attack in the west of the country last November.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania
Rep John Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who is a former Marine and decorated Vietnam veteran, said he received his information from US commanders, who said an official investigation into the incident will show that the Marines deliberately killed civilians during an attack in the western town of Haditha last November.
Murtha, who was decorated for his service in Vietnam, said the death toll may be more than twice as high as the 15 originally reported.
"They actually went into the houses and killed women and children," the congressman said.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he would not comment on Murtha's remarks but said individuals would be held accountable if it was determined they did something wrong.
He added that US troops "are facing a host of enemies in a tough and challenging environment every day".
About a dozen Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, are being investigated for war crimes in connection with the incident to determine if they broke rules of military engagement.
Mr Murtha said the investigation would show that "in fact there was no fire fight, there was no explosion that killed the civilians in a bus. There was no bus. There was no shrapnel, there was only bullet holes inside the house where the Marines had gone in".
A videotape taken by an Iraqi human rights group, Hammurabi Human Rights Association, shows the aftermath of the alleged Haditha attack: a blood-smeared bedroom floor and bits of what appear to be human flesh and bullet holes on the walls.
The video, obtained by Timemagazine, was broadcast a day after Haditha residents said American troops entered homes and shot dead at least 15 members of two families, including a three-year-old girl, after a roadside bomb killed a Marine.