"A senior Republican senator vowed on Sunday to hold hearings on U.S. Marines' role in the killings of up to two dozen Iraqi civilians last November as a leading Democratic war critic alleged a military cover-up. he U.S. military is investigating the November 19 incident in the town of Haditha, a case some American media are comparing to the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam when U.S. soldiers slaughtered up to 500 villagers.
The military has said 15 civilians were killed in Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, while other accounts put the number at about 24.
Sen. John Warner told ABC news the Senate committee he heads would probe "what happened and when it happened and what was the immediate reaction of the senior officers in the Marine Corps when they began to gain knowledge of it."
"I can assure the American public this morning, as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, I'll do exactly what we did with Abu Ghraib," where detainees were photographed enduring abuse at the hands of their U.S. guards. The Virginia Republican spoke on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos,"
Warner said the Marine Corps was investigating the killings and the U.S. Army Central Command was analyzing how the incident was handled.
A U.S. defense official said on Friday U.S. Marines could face criminal charges, possibly including murder, in what would be the worst case of abuse by U.S. soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion." Read more here
