BAGHDAD - The U.S.
military said on Saturday it had
charged two U.S. Army soldiers with the "
premeditated murder"
of three
Iraqis.
The alleged killings took place in separate incidents in the
religiously mixed town of Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, between April
and June 2007, the U.S. military said in a statement.
Staff Sergeant Michael Hensley was charged with three counts of
premeditated murder, obstruction of justice and of wrongfully placing
weapons beside the dead bodies in an apparent attempt to cover up the
crimes.
Specialist Jorge Sandoval was charged with one count of premeditated murder and with putting a weapon by the body.
Both
soldiers are from the 1st Battalion, 501 Infantry Regiment
based at Fort Richardson in Alaska. They are being held in Kuwait
pending trial, the military said.