A military court opened a preliminary hearing in Iraq today to determine whether four US soldiers charged over the deaths of three male prisoners will face court martials.
They have already been charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice in the killings on or about May 9th north of Baghdad.
The Article 32 hearing, at Contingency Operating Base Speicher in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, comes at a sensitive time when the military is investigating other cases of alleged abuses, including the killings of up to 24 unarmed civilians in the town of Haditha last year by US Marines.
The soldiers - Private First Class Corey Clagett, Specialist William Hunsaker, Staff Sargeant Raymond Girouard and Specialist Juston Graber - are from the 101st Airborne Division and were based in Samarra, north of Baghdad