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2 soldiers charged in detainee’s death

BAGHDAD — Two soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder for the shooting of an Iraqi detainee north of Baghdad, the military said Saturday.

Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner and 1st Lt. Michael C. Behenna were accused of shooting the detainee “at or near” their forward operating base and then lying about it, according to the military.

Both faced charges of premeditated murder, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice, according to a statement. Warner faced an additional a charge of accessory after the fact, it added.

The military said the slain detainee, Ali Mansour Mohammed, was initially believed to have been released from U.S. detention on about May 16.

But Warner and Behenna allegedly killed him “by means of shooting him with a pistol,” according to the charge specifications.

Warner was formally charged on July 13, and Behenna on July 31, the military said.

The announcement stressed that both men — who were assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry and based at FOB Summerall near the oil hub of Beiji — were presumed innocent.

Maj. Peggy Kageilery, a military spokeswoman in northern Iraq, said she could not release more details surrounding the detainee’s death because the investigation was ongoing. But she provided the charge specifications.

She also did not immediately have the hometowns or ages of the two soldiers.

Beiji is 155 miles north of Baghdad.

An Article 32 hearing for Warner was to begin Aug. 15 at a U.S. base near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. No date has been set for Behenna.

The proceeding is equivalent to a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a court-martial.

The military said the potential punishment could include the possibility of life imprisonment without parole depending on the results of the investigation.