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Print Email Share ’Kill team’ soldier in video confession (videos)
by Open-Publishing - Wednesday 29 September 2010In what is being described as one of the worst crime cases out of Afghanistan, five US soldiers have been accused of the premeditated murder of three randomly selected civilians.
The five soldiers, who were stationed in the country’s south, are accused of forming their own "kill team".
Prosecutors say the soldiers kept body parts of their victims and three of the accused men have confessed.
In a video, one of the accused - Corporal Jeremy Morlock - tells investigators his sergeant randomly picked out Afghan civilians to be killed with grenades.
"He pulled out one of his grenades, American grenade you know, popped it, throws it, tells me where to go to wax this guy, kill this guy, kill this guy," he said.
The 22-year-old says the sergeant, Calvin Gibbs, boasted of doing the same thing in Iraq.
And he says Gibbs kept fingers as souvenirs and threatened his own men to keep them quiet.
"If Gibbs knew that I was sitting in front of this camera right now there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d f****ing take me out if he had to."
Prosecutors say members of the platoon also posed for photos with the bodies.
Investigators also say they found widespread use of hashish at the base - which was blamed on combat stress.
Morlock’s lawyers argue that he was under the influence of painkillers and sleeping pills when he was questioned.
And Emma Winfield, the mother of one of the other accused soldiers, says her son posted Facebook messages with warnings about the sergeant, but she says her phone calls to the army were ignored.
"We put them on notice and told them this is a travesty," she said.
"Look what’s happening. Not only is your soldier at risk, but you have innocent Afghan civilians that are at risk. And they chose to just turn a deaf air."
Seven other soldiers have been charged with covering up the killings.
The hearing will decide if the five accused of murder will face a court martial, where, if convicted, they could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.