Ishaqi probe clears US troops

Investigation of the attack in Ishaqi concluded that the US troops followed normal procedures in raising the level of force after they came under fire while approaching a building where they believed an Al-Qaeda terrorist was hiding, said Maj Gen William Caldwell.

Issa Hrat Khalaf, whose brother was killed in the air strike, demanded an independent investigation and said the US forces responsible for the killings should face execution. 8220;Where are the terrorists? Are they the old lady or the kids?8221; he said, referring to the fact that women and children were among the victims. 8220;It looks like the lives of the Iraqis are worthless.8221;

Investigation of the attack on a home in Ishaqi, near Samarra in the Sunni Arab heartland north of Baghdad, was one of three probes into possible misconduct by US troops in Iraq. US Marines are also accused of deliberately killing 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in of Haditha on Nov 19 after one of their own died in a roadside bombing.

Besides Haditha and Ishaqi, seven Marines and a Navy corpsman could face murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the April shooting death of an Iraqi man west of Baghdad.