Inquiry Reportedly Cites Evidence Against Marines in Iraq Deaths

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: January 6, 2007

Filed at 7:58 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Marine squad that had just endured casualties from a roadside bombing ordered five unarmed Iraqi civilians out of a taxi, and the squad leader shot them, eyewitnesses say in a new report obtained by The Washington Post.

The report by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which reveals previously undisclosed details about the incident, says a white taxi happened upon the scene shortly after the explosion. Witnesses told investigators the Marines' squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, ordered the passengers out of the car.