US soldier sentenced to 18 years' jail for Iraq murders
Posted: 12 January 2007 1659 hrs

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WASHINGTON : A US soldier was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering three Iraqi detainees, the US military said.

Specialist William Hunsaker pled guilty to murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice. He was condemned to 18 years behind bars, demoted to the lowest military rank and given a dishonorable discharge from the US Army.

On Tuesday, another soldier, Justin Graber, pled guilty to aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and received a nine-month sentence as well as a demotion to the rank of private as part of a plea agreement.

The two soldiers, members of the 101st Airborne, were charged with murder and remanded in October at Fort Campbell in the state of Kentucky.

Hunsaker risks life in prison if he violates the terms of his plea agreement.

Two other soldiers, including Sergeant Raymond Girouard, accused by prosecutors of being in charge during the incident, must appear before a military court in coming weeks.

Hunsaker's sentence must still be approved by the military leadership, the army said.

The three Iraqi detainees were killed on May 9, 2006, during a raid against a suspected Al-Qaeda base in the central province of Salheddine. The four American soldiers initially said the three detainees had tried to flee.

But a member of the same unit accused the fellow soldiers of murdering the detainees. A nurse also testified seeing the detainees shot dead, with one victim receiving a bullet to the head. - AFP /dt