Navy investigates Marines in 2004 Fallujah actions
By THOMAS WATKINS
07/02/07 17:29:49

The Navy said Monday that it is investigating possible military crimes by Marines in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in fall 2004.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service declined to discuss the nature of the investigation, but spokesman Ed Buice said in an e-mail that the agency was pursuing "credible allegations of wrongdoing made against U.S. Marines."

Fallujah was the scene of two Marine battles in 2004, the first of which was launched after insurgents killed four U.S. contractors in the city. That battle was aborted in April 2004 and the Marines launched Operation Al Fajr, also known as Operation Phantom Fury, in November of that year.

Confirmation of the investigation follows two high-profile cases involving Camp Pendleton-based Marines that have proceeded to military courts.

In November 2005, a Marine squad killed 24 Iraqis in Haditha. Three enlisted Marines were charged with murder and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. The Marines say they are not guilty because the deaths were the result of a lawful combat operation.

The other case centers on the actions of a different squad, charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in Hamdania in April 2006. Five of the eight troops charged pleaded guilty to reduced charges; trials for the remaining three are due to begin next week.

Fallujah, Hamdania and Haditha are all in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Ellie