US SOLDIERS 'KILLED AFGHANS FOR SPORT'

September 19, 2010 - 4:24PM

A group of US soldiers is facing accusations of randomly targetting and killing Afghan civilians for sport, The Washington Post has reported.

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.

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.

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.

Then the other soldiers opened fire, killing the man.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Army officials have not disclosed a motive for the killings, the report noted.

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.

The accused soldiers deny wrongdoing, the paper noted.

AFP

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-soldiers-killed-afghans-for-sport-20100919-15hpd.html