Back مجزرة حديثة Arabic Масавае забойства ў Хадзіце Byelorussian Haditha-massakren Danish Massaker von Haditha German Masakro de Haditha Esperanto Masacre de Haditha Spanish کشتار حدیثه Persian Hadithan verilöyly Finnish Massacre de Haditha French Strage di Haditha Italian

Haditha massacre

Not to be confused with Battle of Haditha.
Haditha massacre
Part of the Iraq War
A picture taken at the scene of the Haditha incident shows several dead Iraqi civilians who were killed by U.S. Marines.
LocationHaditha, Al Anbar Province, Iraq
Coordinates34°08′23″N 42°22′41″E / 34.13972°N 42.37806°E / 34.13972; 42.37806
DateNovember 19, 2005 (2005-11-19)
Attack type
Raids against a vehicle and several nearby houses in response to an IED attack against U.S. Marines
Deaths24 Iraqi civilians
PerpetratorsUS Marines - Squad from K Company, 3rd Battalion 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division

The Haditha massacre (also called the Haditha killings or the Haditha incident) was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States Marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians.[1][2] The killings occurred in the city of Haditha in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. Among the dead were men, women, elderly people and children as young as 1, who were shot multiple times at close range while unarmed. The ensuing massacre took place after an improvised explosive device exploded near a convoy, killing a lance corporal and severely injuring two other marines. The immediate reaction was to seize 5 men in a nearby taxi and execute them on the street.[3]

An initial Marine Corps communique reported that 15 civilians were killed by the bomb's blast and eight insurgents were subsequently killed when the Marines returned fire against those attacking the convoy. However, other evidence uncovered by the media contradicted the Marines' account.[1] A Time magazine reporter's questions prompted the United States military to open an investigation into the incident. The investigation found evidence that "supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians", according to an anonymous Pentagon official.[4] Three officers were officially reprimanded for failing to properly initially report and investigate the killings. On December 21, 2006, eight Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines were charged in connection with the incident.[5][6]

By June 17, 2008, six defendants had their cases dropped and a seventh was found not guilty.[7] The exception was former Staff Sergeant, now-Private Frank Wuterich. On October 3, 2007, the Article 32 hearing investigating officer recommended that charges of murder be dropped and Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide in the deaths of two women and five children.[8] Further charges of assault and manslaughter were ultimately dropped; Wuterich was convicted of a single count of negligent dereliction of duty on January 24, 2012.[9][10] Wuterich received a rank reduction and pay cut but avoided jail time.[11][12] Iraqis expressed disbelief and voiced outrage after the six-year U.S. military prosecution ended with none of the Marines sentenced to incarceration. A lawyer for the victims stated "this is an assault on humanity" before adding that he, as well as the Government of Iraq, might bring the case to international courts.[13]

  1. ^ a b McGirk, Tim. Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha? Archived June 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Time. Accessed June 1, 2006.
  2. ^ Suek, Barbara; Mohammed, Faris (January 25, 2012). "Iraqi town says justice failed victims of US raid". action news. Associated Press, WPVI-TV/DT. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  3. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (May 26, 2022). "Our Hypocrisy on War Crimes". New York Review of Books. pp. 10–13, 12. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "Evidence suggests Haditha killings deliberate: Pentagon source". CBC News. Associated Press. August 2, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  5. ^ "Marines charged in Iraqi civilian deaths", Associated Press, December 21, 2006.
  6. ^ U.S. marine faces 13 Haditha murder charges Archived January 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, CBC. Accessed December 21, 2006.
  7. ^ Whitcomb, Dan (June 18, 2008). "Charges dropped against Marine in Haditha case". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  8. ^ Mark Walker, Officer: Drop murder charges against Haditha Marine Archived November 17, 2007, at archive.today, North County Times, October 3, 2007.
  9. ^ Tony Perry (January 25, 2012). "Marine gets no jail time in killing of 24 Iraqi civilians". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  10. ^ "Marine to serve no time in Iraqi killings case". Fox News. Associated Press. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  11. ^ "Iraqi outrage over U.S. Marine's plea deal in Haditha killings" Archived January 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. CNN, January 25, 2012.
  12. ^ Mary Slosson (January 23, 2012). "Marine pleads guilty, ending final Haditha trial". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "Fury over lenient massacre sentence for US marine Frank Wuterich". The Australian. January 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.

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