Marines may have destroyed evidence
Marines may have destroyed evidence
Aug. 18, 2006 at 1:14AM
A report on an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines says evidence appears to have been destroyed, The New York Times reports.
The newspaper cites two senior Defense Department officials who did not want their names used. Both reportedly agreed to talk to the Times because they believe the report should be publicized.
No one has yet been formally charged with the killings, which took place outside the town of Haditha in November 2005. A squad shot 24 people after it was hit by a roadside bomb, killing one Marine.
The pages of the squad's logbook for that day have been removed, the report said, noting that Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who was in charge of the squad, was on duty in the place where the logbook was kept.
In another instance where evidence seems to have been withheld, a video taken by a drone was only given to investigators after the second-highest-ranking officer in Iraq became involved in the inquiry.
Ellie