BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi army medic on Sunday told a U.S. military hearing of the horrible scene that confronted him in a tiny home south of Baghdad where he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers.

The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya.

The medic, whose name was withheld for security reasons, testified that he was the first responder to enter the house, arriving between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the day of the killings.

The girl was sprawled naked in the house, her torso and head burned by flames, and she had a single bullet wound under her left eye, he said.

He said Abeer's 5-year-old sister, Hadeel, was found in an adjacent room dead from a bullet wound in the head. Their father, Qassim, and mother, Fikhriya, also were found shot to death, the army medic said.

"I was feeling very bad," he said. "I was sick for almost two weeks."

Four soldiers--Sgt. Paul Cortez, Spec. James Barker, Pfc. Jesse Spielman and Pfc. Bryan Howard--are accused of rape and murder and could face the death penalty if the case is passed for a court-martial.

Sgt. Anthony Yribe is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.

A former private, Steven Green, was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges in the case. Green, who was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder," has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.

Sunday's proceeding is referred to as an Article 32 hearing and is the military equivalent of a grand jury session. It is expected to last several days.

U.S. soldiers' conduct has come under the spotlight over a string of similar cases.

Four soldiers from another regiment in the 101st Airborne have been accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in Samarra three months ago. The Article 32 hearing in that case ended Friday in Tikrit, but no decision on a trial was announced.

In another case, Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine whether to recommend criminal charges against Marines accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.



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wow ...Bush really went and opened the Gates of Hellâ„¢ on this Iraq thing. I guess instead of Saddams Rape Rooms that the neocon freaks wail about when one calls this mess a mistake, we are delivering the rape right to their doors.

It is all really fucked up

The important thing, friends, is that we keep in mind this is an isolated incident and is not in any way indicative of the types of activities our (United Statesian) soldiers are involved in as they carry out Operation Iraqi Liberty or whatever. The vast majority of our fighting men and women do not rape & murder Iraqi girls, murder their family members exexcution style including any small children who may happen to be present, and then burn the rape victim's head and crotch to obscure forensic semen trails.
The burning of the head bothers me because it indicates this girl was more than likely orally violated before she was murdered and quite possibly forced to satiate these young American men's lust for "gagging blowjobs" brought about no doubt through frequent viewing of the prevalent pornography depicting same.