The US Marine Corps has ruled that no charges will be filed against a Marine in the fatal shooting of a wounded and unarmed Iraqi in a Falluja mosque last November in an incident shown in a television pool report, a spokesman said on Wednesday. After a five-month investigation, the Marine Corps determined that the Marine corporal fired in self-defence and will not face court-martial, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel T.V. Johnson said. "The commanding general of the First Marine Division determined that the action of the Marine involved in the incident was pretty much consistent with the established rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict," Johnson told CBS Radio.
NBC News reported earlier that the decision was based partly on the fact that Marines had been warned insurgents were feigning death and booby-trapping bodies and that the corporal apparently feared for his life when he fired the shots.
The Marine was seen in blurry images on the dramatic videotape that was shared with other news organisations. NBC said a second Marine remains under investigation for shooting another unarmed insurgent in the mosque.
The US military opened the investigation into possible war crimes after the incident was captured on recorded by an NBC television crew embedded with the Marines.
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