WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A veteran U.S. special forces soldier accused of murdering an Afghan man and cutting off one of his ears was found not guilty by a military jury Wednesday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, local media reported.

    The 10-member jury deliberated for about four hours before announcing their decision.

    Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Joseph Newell, 39, was charged with killing a resident of Hyderabad, a village in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on March 5 last year and mutilating his body.

    If convicted, he could have faced up to life in prison without parole.

    The unnamed Afghan man he killed had been detained after a vehicle stop when Newell found a picture of a Russian machine gun commonly used by Taliban forces on the man's cell phone.

    Prosecutor Capt. Seamus Barry told jurors that the Afghan man was unarmed and defenseless, and did not constitute a threat on that day, noting that Newell's actions were a discredit to the Armed Forces.

    But Newell's lawyer Todd Conormon said it is difficult for the public to understand what soldiers go through in that environment, stressing that every soldier has the right to self-defense.