Marine describes massacre of Iraqis

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ANGERED that a popular member of his squad had been killed in an explosion, a US marine urinated on one of 24 Iraqi civilians killed by his unit in Haditha, the marine has admitted.

Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also testified on Wednesday that he watched his squad leader shoot dead five Iraqi civilians who had surrendered.

In dramatic testimony in a pre-trial hearing for one of the seven marines charged over the Haditha killings and alleged cover-up two years ago, Sergeant Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, known as TJ, ripping his body into two bloody pieces.

"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry TJ was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head," an unemotional Sergeant Dela Cruz told the hearing in a military courtroom.

He said he watched the squad leader, Sergeant Frank Wuterich, shoot five men whose hands were tied up near a car.

Wuterich "walked to me and told me that if anybody asked, they were running away and the Iraqi Army shot them", Sergeant Dela Cruz testified.

Three marines have been charged with murder and four officers have been charged with dereliction of duty and obstructing the investigation.

Prosecutors say the killings were revenge for Lance Corporal Terrazas's death, while the marines say it was a clearing operation, conducted under lawful orders, that had disastrous results.

Wuterich's lawyer, Neal Puckett, later said that Sergeant Dela Cruz's testimony was false.

"It's about the fourth or fifth version of events we've heard from Sergeant Dela Cruz," Mr Puckett said. "It's just so sad that he is being required to testify against his fellow [marines] in order to guarantee his freedom. He's a victim, too."

The Marine Corps initially reported the deaths as a result of the roadside bombing and a gun battle with insurgents. However, a report in Time last year prompted an investigation.

Sergeant Dela Cruz said he was asked four times to lie about what happened in Haditha, although no one asked him about the killings for a time.

Another marine, Sergeant Albert Espinosa, testified that he pressed for an investigation of the killings almost immediately after they occurred, but was frustrated by the apparent indifference of his commanding officers.