By DPA
Washington : Two US Marines are to face charges in connection with the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians near Haditha in 2005, a US general said.
The officer overseeing the case, Lieutenant General James Mattis, Friday referred charges against Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum and Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani to courts martial.
Tatum had faced charges of murder and negligent homicide in the incident, but those charges were dropped. Instead, he now faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.
Chessani is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for failing to accurately report and investigate the incident.
After a roadside bomb struck a Marine convoy on Nov 19, 2005 in the Iraqi city that left a driver fatally wounded, the troops were accused of going on a rampage against civilians to exact revenge for the killing of their comrade.
Tatum and Chessani will face military trials at Fort Pendleton in California, but no date has been set.