Initially, U.S. military officials said the killings were the result of intra-Iraqi feuding, a believable conclusion given the dozens of revenge killings that happen each day throughout the country. But a U.S. soldier came forward recently with rumors of American involvement in the rape and killings. On Monday, Steven D. Green, 21, a former private with the 502nd Regiment, was charged in Charlotte, N.C., in the case. The Army has said that no other soldiers have been charged or detained, but that several were under close supervision in Iraq.
Janabi said an American investigator told him that a high-ranking U.S. officer wished to pay his condolences to the family. The next day, he brought Fakhriya's cousin, Mohammed, to the base along with the two boys to meet the commander.
"He hugged the children and kissed them several times," Janabi said. "It was hard for him to control his tears."
By Ibon Villelabeitia
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister urged the U.S. military on Thursday to keep "reckless" troops from serving in Iraq in order to prevent abuses like the alleged rape and murder of a teenager and her family by U.S. soldiers in March.
Expanding on calls for an independent inquiry and a review of foreign troops' immunity from Iraqi law, Nuri al-Maliki said commanders should do a better job in preparing their soldiers.
"There needs to be a plan to educate and train soldiers, and those who are brought to serve in Iraq shouldn't bear prejudices nor be reckless toward people's honor," Maliki said.
The U.S. military is investigating a group of its soldiers over the rape and killing of a family of four in Mahmudiya, south of the capital, in a case that has strained relations between Washington and Baghdad.
Former private Steven Green, 21, has been charged with rape and murder in a U.S. federal court. He had been discharged from the army because of a "personality disorder" before the case came to light.
At least three other soldiers are being investigated in the case.
"The Mahmudiya incident and other incidents before that ... produce sadness, pain and condemnation from Iraqis," Maliki said.
So was Janabi the first there, or was it "eyewitness" Hussein Mohammed, or was it the two kids getting home from school on the afternoon of 3/12.
Or was it the unidentified Iraqi man who approached checkpoint one on 3/11?