Girouard suggested they put one man ``out of his misery.'' Graber said he shot the man in the head

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6338864,00.html

Soldier Pleads Guilty to Iraq Murders

Thursday January 11, 2007 7:46 PM


By RYAN LENZ

Associated Press Writer

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - A soldier pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering three detainees during a raid on a suspected al-Qaida compound last year in Iraq.

Spc. William B. Hunsaker, 24, pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice during a hearing at Fort Campbell.

As part of a plea agreement, charges that Hunsaker had threatened another soldier's life if he told authorities of the killings were dropped.

Hunsaker, 101st Airborne Division, was one of four soldiers charged in the killings that followed a raid at the Muthana chemical complex near Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

The soldiers originally told investigators that they shot detainees because they were attempting to flee - a story they now say they made up - and that commanders told them to kill all military-age males.