Marine pleads guilty in killing of unarmed Iraqis


January 23, 2012 at 1:39p.m.

Marine pleads guilty in killing of unarmed Iraqis

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A Marine squad leader has pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty in a plea deal to end a manslaughter case stemming from the killings of 24 Iraqis in 2005.

The Marine Corps says Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., entered the plea today at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Wuterich led a squad that killed the Iraqis, including women and children, after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others.