US military admits killing "non-combatant" in Iraq

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO849126.htm

US military admits killing "non-combatant" in Iraq

BAGHDAD, June 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. military, in the spotlight over murder charges against its troops accused of killing Iraqis, said it had killed a "non-combatant" during a raid in which an al Qaeda militant was detained on Wednesday.

A statement said U.S.-led forces killed the civilian near the violence-racked city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, as troops were securing the house of the alleged militant.

"While securing the initial target, Coalition forces noticed an individual acting suspiciously at a nearby house. They assessed him as an imminent threat, engaged and killed him. He was later determined to be a non-combatant," it said.

The statement was unusual in drawing attention to the incident. For three years since the U.S. invasion, Iraqis have often complained of civilians being killed by U.S. troops and said those complaints were rarely investigated thoroughly.