Iraqis accuse Marines in April killing of civilian

All parties to the case of Hashim Ibrahim Awad al-Zobaie agree that he was shot dead by Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment on Apr. 26 in the small central Iraqi village of Hamdaniyah. But there are differing accounts of his death, and they are at the heart of another investigation into the conduct of US forces in Iraq. Members of the Marine foot patrol under investigation in the case said they came upon Hashim digging a hole for a bomb near his home. The Marines said they killed Hashim in a brief gun battle and that they found an AK-47 assault rifle and a shovel by his side. According to accounts given by Hashim's neighbors and members of his family, and apparently supported by photographs, the Marines went to Hashim's home, took the 52-year-old disabled Iraqi outside and shot him four times in the face. The assault rifle and shovel next to his body had been planted by the Marines, who had borrowed them from a villager, family members and other residents said. Hashim's family alleged this weekend that a small group of US servicemen came to them last week and offered the family money to support the Marines' version of the killing. Hashim was known in the village as Hashim the Lame because he had a metal bar surgically inserted into one leg several years ago. Attorneys familiar with the case say seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are being investigated and all eight were removed from duty in Iraq and are being held at Camp Pendleton in California. A US investigating team–a mix of uniformed troops and civilians–came to Hamdaniyah, according to Saadoun Ibrahim, Hashim's brother. A different group of US troops arrived at the house the next day and talked to him. According to Ibrahim, one US soldier said, "We are ready to compensate you with the money you want, on one condition, which is when the investigation committee comes back, you tell them that your brother worked with the insurgents and had connections with the insurgents, and that he used to go out at night to places you don't know."