Iraqis appoint prosecutor over troops' rape case [View All]

[Barrett808]

MAHMUDIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Local Iraqi officials have appointed a prosecutor to investigate the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl and the killing of her family, for which five U.S. soldiers are already charged in a U.S. military court.

The mayor of Mahmudiya, the town near Baghdad where the family of four was killed, told Reuters on Wednesday a local committee set up to investigate the case would present its findings to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The rape case, the fifth involving serious crimes being investigated by the U.S. military in Iraq, has outraged Iraqis and led Maliki, a close Washington ally, to call for a review of foreign troops' immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

"This committee is responsible for preparing all the circumstances to achieve this investigation. Hopefully we will manage to present it to the cabinet," said mayor Muayyad Fadhil.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060823/ts_nm/iraq_rape_dc