Ordered to Kill an Iraqi Civilian

AP - Ordered to kill unarmed Iraqi, U.S. soldier testifies

A U.S. soldier cried today as he told a court martial that his staff sergeant ordered him to shoot an unarmed Iraqi. He said the sergeant then laughed and told the trooper to finish the job as the dying man convulsed on the ground.

The military reported, meanwhile, that it had opened an investigation into the deaths of five women and four children this week in a village where American forces had carried out ground and air assaults.

Prosecutors claim the first case involved the killing of an Iraqi man with a 9-mm pistol, placing an AK-47 rifle by his body to make it seem as though he was armed, and failing to ensure humane treatment of a detainee, the victim.