Two soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder in the killing of an Iraqi civilian near Kirkuk, and their battalion commander has been relieved of duty because of the charges.
Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales and Spc. Christopher P. Shore are both assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, officials said Thursday.
They are alleged to have killed the Iraqi on or about June 23, and the charges “resulted from reports of the alleged wrongdoing made by fellow soldiers,” read a military news release issued Thursday.
No other details of the incident were released.
The soldiers’ battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Browder, was relieved of command by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning, which includes the unit.
Mixon took the action “based on the totality of the circumstances surrounding this incident and due to a lack of confidence in [Browder’s] ability to command effectively,” the statement read.
No charges have been filed against Browder and he is not a suspect in the case, officials said.
The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, commonly known as CID, is investigating the case.
“These charges are an accusation of wrongdoing. The soldiers are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense,” Thursday’s release read.
Corrales is from San Antonio and Shore is from Winder, Ga.
The new charges follow a separate murder case allegedly involving three U.S. soldiers near Iskandariyah. Three soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder, wrongfully placing a weapon beside a dead Iraqi civilian, making false official statements and obstruction of justice.
The soldiers charged in that case — Sgt. Evan Vela, Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley and Spc. Jorge Sandoval — are all members of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment out of Fort Richardson, Alaska.
