The US military charged an Army sergeant with prisoner abuse and investigators are considering charges against other soldiers in the deaths of two prisoners in Afghanistan, an Army official said on Wednesday.
The Army Criminal Investigation Command is winding up a lengthy investigation of the December 2002 deaths of the men after blunt force injuries at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, the Army official said on condition of anonymity.
These investigators could recommend charges against "dozens" of US soldiers in the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion and the 377th Military Police Company, the official said. The Army already has charged one soldier, a sergeant in the military police unit, the official said.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that 26 soldiers could face charges ranging from negligent homicide to dereliction of duty and failure to report an offence.
This marks the latest criminal action taken by the US military against soldiers involved in the abuse of prisoners.
Seven soldiers have been charged in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail on the outskirts of Baghdad. Army investigators last week recommended criminal charges against dozens more military intelligence and military police soldiers as well as private contractors.
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