RFS_Br
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2012
- Messages
- 1,237
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
U.S. Army sergeant charged with murder for 'shooting two unarmed, deaf Iraqi boys'
The leader of a U.S. Army small-kill team has been charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing two deaf, unarmed Iraqi boys in a small Iraqi village in March of 2007.
Former Staff Sergeant Michael Barbera has been charged by military prosecutors in the fatal shootings of Ahmad Khalid al-Timmimi, 15, and his brother Abbas, 14, as the boys were tending cattle in a palm grove just outside As Sadah, about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Additionally, the 31-year-old Barbera 'lying to his commanders, directing fellow soldiers to lie to military investigators and making a threatening phone call to a civilian in an effort to keep what happened from becoming public,' according to a report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Killer: Authorities say Sergeant Michael Barbera fatally shot two unarmed, deaf Iraqi boys in 2007
Barbera led Charlie Troop, 5th Squadron of the 73rd Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the time of the alleged murders, the squadron was involved in counterinsurgency operations in the Diyala province.
That's when military officials say Barbera fatally shot the two boys before lying to his superiors about how they died.
'None of us feel good about this. But I'm glad that the Army is doing the right thing,' Ken Katter, 46, of Saginaw, Mich., the sniper assigned to Barbera's team, told the paper.
'Leader': Barbera led a small-kill team in the Army's 73rd Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment when the alleged murders took place
Katter is one of several soldiers who brought the killings to the attention of Army officials. Katter firmly believes that the shootings led to two truck bomb attacks two weeks later that killed 10 soldiers.
According to the Trib, investigators who reviewed the case recommended that Barbera be charged with two counts of murder. However, those charges never made it to an Article 32 hearing.
Instead, the paper reports, Barbera received a light reprimand and ultimately promoted.
However, whistle-blowers like Katter and others spoke up against their former superior officer.
'All we ever asked was for someone to listen to us and give what we were concerned about — a fair hearing,' Katter said.
Barbera was charged on Wednesday at Alaska's Fort Richardson with two counts of murder. He currently is in the process of being moved to Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, where he will undergo a formal arraignment.
- Sergeant Michael Barbera allegedly fatally shot the two boys as they tended cattle in a palm grove
- Authorities say Barbera then tried to cover up the shootings by lying to superiors
The leader of a U.S. Army small-kill team has been charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing two deaf, unarmed Iraqi boys in a small Iraqi village in March of 2007.
Former Staff Sergeant Michael Barbera has been charged by military prosecutors in the fatal shootings of Ahmad Khalid al-Timmimi, 15, and his brother Abbas, 14, as the boys were tending cattle in a palm grove just outside As Sadah, about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Additionally, the 31-year-old Barbera 'lying to his commanders, directing fellow soldiers to lie to military investigators and making a threatening phone call to a civilian in an effort to keep what happened from becoming public,' according to a report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Killer: Authorities say Sergeant Michael Barbera fatally shot two unarmed, deaf Iraqi boys in 2007
Barbera led Charlie Troop, 5th Squadron of the 73rd Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the time of the alleged murders, the squadron was involved in counterinsurgency operations in the Diyala province.
That's when military officials say Barbera fatally shot the two boys before lying to his superiors about how they died.
'None of us feel good about this. But I'm glad that the Army is doing the right thing,' Ken Katter, 46, of Saginaw, Mich., the sniper assigned to Barbera's team, told the paper.
'Leader': Barbera led a small-kill team in the Army's 73rd Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment when the alleged murders took place
Katter is one of several soldiers who brought the killings to the attention of Army officials. Katter firmly believes that the shootings led to two truck bomb attacks two weeks later that killed 10 soldiers.
According to the Trib, investigators who reviewed the case recommended that Barbera be charged with two counts of murder. However, those charges never made it to an Article 32 hearing.
Instead, the paper reports, Barbera received a light reprimand and ultimately promoted.
However, whistle-blowers like Katter and others spoke up against their former superior officer.
'All we ever asked was for someone to listen to us and give what we were concerned about — a fair hearing,' Katter said.
Barbera was charged on Wednesday at Alaska's Fort Richardson with two counts of murder. He currently is in the process of being moved to Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, where he will undergo a formal arraignment.
