KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s president on Wednesday condemned the actions of a group of U.S. soldiers charged with murdering three unarmed Afghans, charging they killed for entertainment after taking drugs.
It was Hamid Karzai’s first public mention of the actions of five soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade who have been charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of the three men in southern Afghanistan.
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan have created tensions between his government and NATO forces.
Rolling Stone magazine published a series of graphic photos showing the soldiers posing next to the dead bodies. The German news magazine Der Spiegel had previously published three of them.
Death toll climbs in Tikrit standoff
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The death toll for a grisly hostage situation at a government building in northern Iraq continued to rise Wednesday as grieving families buried the victims and Iraqi officials questioned how it could have happened.
Gunmen wearing explosives belts under military uniforms charged into the provincial council building in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Tuesday afternoon, shooting hostages execution-style and spraying bullets and grenades throughout the building during the five-hour standoff.
Dr. Raied Ibrahim, the health director for Salahuddin province where the attack took place, said 57 people have so far been counted dead and 98 wounded.
US military deaths reported in Afghan, Iraq wars
As of Tuesday, March 29, at least 1,408 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.
The AP count is four more than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
At least 1,158 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.
Outside of Afghanistan, the department reports at least 99 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 11 were the result of hostile action.
The AP count of total OEF casualties outside of Afghanistan is two fewer than the department’s tally. The Defense Department also counts two military civilian deaths.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 10,749 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department.
As of Tuesday, March 29, at least 4,441 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes nine military civilians killed in action.
At least 3,502 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.
The AP count is three less than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 32,044 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally.
Latest identifications:
• Spc. Justin D. Ross, 22, of Green Bay, Wis.; died March 26 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by small arms fire; assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion, Wausau, Wis.
• Two soldiers died March 22 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire; both were assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany; killed were Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire, 28, of Chillicothe, Ohio; Pfc. Michael C. Mahr, 26, of Homosassa, Fla.
• Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III, 41, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; died March 22 as a result of a noncombat related incident; assigned to USS Enterprise as an aviation ordnanceman. Enterprise is currently deployed to the Fifth Fleet area of responsibility conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers, 41, of Raleigh, N.C.; died March 18 at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, as a result of a noncombat related incident; assigned to the 6th Battalion, 4th Military Information Support Group, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.
• Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski, 25, of Westminster, Md.; died March 20 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
• Staff Sgt. Mecolus C. McDaniel, 33, of Fort Hood, Texas; died March 19 in Khost province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire; assigned to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.
• Two soldiers died March 19 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they were allegedly shot with small arms fire by an individual from a military security group and the incident is under investigation; both were assigned to the 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany; killed were: Cpl. Donald R. Mickler Jr., 29, of Bucyrus, Ohio; Pfc. Rudy A. Acosta, 19, of Canyon Country, Calif.
• Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis, 20, of Bennett, Colo.; died March 17 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
• Staff Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins, 31, of Lawton, Okla.; died March 16 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained on March 15, when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade; assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.
• Cpl. Brandon S. Hocking, 24, of Seattle, Wash.; died March 21 in As Samawah, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device; assigned to the 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
• Senior Airman Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, of Corona, Calif.; died March 16 due to a noncombat related incident in Southwest Asia; assigned to the 28th Communications Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.