September 19, 2010 – 4:24PM<\/p>\n
A group of US soldiers is facing accusations of randomly targetting and killing Afghan civilians for sport, The Washington Post has reported.<\/p>\n
The incidents involved rogue members of a platoon from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the newspaper said on Sunday, citing army legal documents and interviews with people involved in the case.<\/p>\n
The soldiers’ game started last northern winter, when an Afghan man approached a US trooper in the village of La Mohammed Kalay, the report said.<\/p>\n
As the man neared, one soldier created a ruse that he and his men were under attack, then tossed a fragmentary grenade on the ground, the paper noted.<\/p>\n
Then the other soldiers opened fire, killing the man.<\/p>\n
According to The Post, the unprovoked attack on January 15 was the start of a months-long shooting spree against civilians that resulted in some of the grisliest allegations against American soldiers since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.<\/p>\n
Members of the platoon have been charged with dismembering and photographing corpses, as well as hoarding a skull and other human bones, the report said.<\/p>\n
The father of one soldier said he repeatedly tried to alert the army after his son told him about the first killing, only to be rebuffed, The Post said.<\/p>\n
Military documents allege that five members of the unit staged a total of three murders in Kandahar province between January and May, the paper noted.<\/p>\n
Seven other soldiers have been charged with crimes related to the case, including hashish use, attempts to impede the investigation and a retaliatory gang assault on a private who blew the whistle, according to The Post.<\/p>\n
Army officials have not disclosed a motive for the killings, the report noted.<\/p>\n
But a review of military court documents and interviews with people familiar with the investigation suggest the killings were committed essentially for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for hashish and alcohol, The Post said.<\/p>\n
The accused soldiers deny wrongdoing, the paper noted.<\/p>\n
AFP<\/p>\n
Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The soldiers’ game started last northern winter, when an Afghan man approached a US trooper in the village of La Mohammed Kalay, the report said.<\/p>\n As the man neared, one soldier created a ruse that he and his men were under attack, then tossed a fragmentary grenade on the ground, the paper noted.<\/p>\n Then the other soldiers opened fire, killing the man.<\/p>\n According to The Post, the unprovoked attack on January 15 was the start of a months-long shooting spree against civilians that resulted in some of the grisliest allegations against American soldiers since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Continue reading