Free Republic

Washington: A US Marine sergeant is under investigation for possible war crimes committed in Iraq based on statements he made to his hometown newspaper, military officials said today. Gunnery Sergeant Gus Covarrubias became the target of the preliminary inquiry after he described for the Las Vegas, Nevada, Review-Journal daily how he had hunted down and shot two Iraqi soldiers after a firefight. "A preliminary inquiry has been initiated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to examine the circumstances surrounding the statements made by Gunnery Sergeant Covarrubias," the statement said. "The preliminary inquiry will determine if the actions described by Gunnery...

A Las Vegas Marine has been interviewed about his claim that he hunted down and killed two Iraqi soldiers, but no decision has been made about whether he should be criminally investigated for a war crime, a Pentagon official said Monday. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is handling the preliminary inquiry into the actions of Gunnery Sgt. Gus Covarrubias, a 20-year Marine Corps veteran. Officials with the NCIS were unavailable for comment Monday. Covarrubias, 38, was part of a firefight in Baghdad that injured him and eight others from Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines. During an interview last week,...

Military officials said Friday they will launch an inquiry into whether war crimes were committed by a Las Vegas Marine who described hunting down and killing Iraqi soldiers. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gus Covarrubias could be the first member of the U.S. military fighting in Iraq to be investigated for possible violations of rules governing battlefield conduct. During an interview at his Las Vegas home earlier this week, Covarrubias told a Review-Journal reporter the harrowing tale of an intense April 8 battle in Baghdad that he described as "a firefight from hell." The resulting story, published Friday, included Covarrubias' account of...

Military officials are investigating a Marine who says he shot an Iraqi soldier twice in the back of the head following a grenade attack on his comrades.The Marine Forces Reserve announced the preliminary inquiry of Gunnery Sgt. Gus Covarrubias on Friday, the day the Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a story in which he described the killing.Covarrubias, 38, of Las Vegas, said that during an intense battle in Baghdad on April 8, he pursued a member of the Iraqi Republican Guard who had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at his unit. Covarrubias said he received a concussion in the attack and several...