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Special report: U. S. soldiers accused of killing Iraqi civilians
Special report: Abu Ghraib abuse scandle

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. soldier accused of participating in the rape of an Iraqi girl and then killing her and her family was sentenced to 90 years in jail on Thursday, media reports said.

The soldier, James Barker, one of four American soldiers accused of raping the Iraqi girl and killing her family in the March 2006 incident, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to rape and murder in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

He was sentenced to 90 years in prison under the plea agreement.

Barker has agreed to testify against the others in the case, reports said.

Barker gave an account of the event on Wednesday after entering his plea, detailing how he and his fellow soldiers brought up the idea, then raped the girl and killed her family at Mahmudiya, a village about 32 kilometers south of Baghdad, in March 2006.

The others charged with rape and murder in the case were Jesse Spielman, Paul Cortez, and Bryan Howard, all members of the 101st Airborne Division. A fifth person, former soldier Steven Green, had been charged in a civilian court and he pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and sexual assault.

Cortez was also arraigned Wednesday but deferred entering a plea. Howard also deferred entering a plea at his arraignment in October, and Spielman would be arraigned in December.

There have been several incidents in which U.S. soldiers were accused of killing Iraqi civilians over the past year. On Nov. 19,2005, 24 Iraqi civilians were allegedly killed by U.S. troops in the western Iraqi town of Haditha, and in March this year, 11 Iraqi civilians, including five children, were killed during a U.S.-led raid against a suspected al-Qaida site.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- One of four American soldiers accused of raping a Iraqi girl and later killing her and her family pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Full story

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