Four more American trooops have been charged with rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said Sunday.
The five were accused Saturday following an investigation into allegations that US troops raped the teenager and killed her and three relatives at her home south of Baghdad.
According to the AP, the U.S. statement added the five troops still on active duty will face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law. The Article 32 proceeding will determine whether there is enough evidence to place them on trial.
One of the soldiers was charged with failing to report the attack but is not believed to have participated in it directly, the statement conveyed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded last week an independent investigation into the case, which followed a series of allegations that U.S. troops killed and mistreated Iraqi civilians.
