Marine cleared in Falluja shooting
Mosque incident captured on videotape
From Jamie McIntyre
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Navy investigators have determined a U.S. Marine acted in self-defense when he shot an apparently wounded and unarmed Iraqi inside a Falluja mosque in November, a senior Pentagon official said Wednesday.
The Marine, who will not face charges, was under investigation in the shootings of four enemy combatants as part of an operation during the siege of Falluja on November 13, 2004. The mosque shooting was captured on videotape.
An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service determined that the Marine acted in self-defense, within military law and the law of armed conflict.
Although that Marine has been cleared of wrongdoing, the investigation remains open because autopsies of some of the bodies found in the mosque turned up bullets that were not from his gun.
The incident occurred during house-to-house fighting in southern Falluja, less than a week after U.S.-led forces launched an offensive to rout insurgents from the Iraqi city.
It was recorded by a television journalist embedded with the Marines. The Iraqi was among several wounded men found in a mosque that Marines said had been the source of small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire the previous day.
The Marine approached one of the men against a wall, saying, "He's [expletive] faking he's dead. He's faking he's [expletive] dead."
The Marine raised his rifle and fired at least one shot into the wounded man, at which point a companion said, "Well, he's dead now."
When told on the tape by the reporter that the men were among those wounded in an earlier firefight at the mosque, the Marine who fired the shot said, "I didn't know, sir. I didn't know."
At the time, U.S. commanders said they were concerned the video might encourage more insurgents to fight to the death rather than surrender, and Iraqis who watched the scene on television said they were stunned.
The Marine seen on the videotape was part of a squad from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
