A chilling revelation has emerged, implicating two US Marines in a notorious Iraq war shooting that left an entire family dead. This shocking claim, made by a forensic expert to the BBC, raises questions about the integrity of the American justice system and the accountability of its armed forces. But what's even more disturbing is the potential cover-up that may have occurred.
Imagine being Safa Younes, standing in the very room where her family was gunned down. Bullet holes still scar the front door of her childhood home in Haditha, Iraq. Inside, a cheerful bedspread masks the horror that unfolded on November 19, 2005, when US Marines barged in and opened fire, sparing only Safa's life.
Fast forward 20 years, and a BBC Eye investigation has unearthed evidence that two marines, never brought to trial, were involved in the massacre of Safa's family. This evidence, primarily consisting of statements and testimonies, casts doubt on the American investigation and the way its military is held accountable.
The tragedy of Safa's family was part of the infamous Haditha massacre, where 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, lost their lives. Marines entered three homes, executing almost everyone inside, and also killed a driver and four students in a car on their way to college.
This horrific incident sparked the longest US war crimes investigation of the Iraq war, yet no one was convicted. The marines claimed they were responding to gunfire after a roadside bomb killed one of their squad members and injured two others.
But here's where it gets controversial. Safa, just 13 at the time, refutes this claim, stating, 'We hadn't been accused of anything. We didn't even have any weapons.' She survived by playing dead among her slain siblings, the youngest being only three.
Initially, four marines faced murder charges, but their conflicting stories led to charges being dropped against three of them, granting immunity from further legal action. This left Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich as the sole defendant in a 2012 trial.
In a never-before-seen video recording of a pre-trial hearing, Lance Corporal Humberto Mendoza, the squad's most junior member, reenacts the events at Safa's house. Mendoza, a private at the time, admits to killing Safa's father when he answered the door. When asked if he saw the father's hands, he confirms he did and that the man was unarmed. Despite this, Mendoza shot him.
Mendoza's story changes in a newly discovered audio recording from Wuterich's trial. He now claims he walked into the bedroom where Safa's family was, contradicting his initial statement that he only opened the door and saw women and children, then shut it.
Forensic expert Michael Maloney, who investigated the killings in 2006, finds this discrepancy significant. Using crime scene photos, he determined that two marines entered the room and shot the civilians. When hearing Mendoza's new account, Maloney expresses surprise, stating it places Mendoza in the position of the first shooter.
Safa's video deposition to military prosecutors in 2006 was never shown in court. In it, she recounts how a marine threw a grenade into the bedroom, which failed to explode, before entering and shooting her family. Mendoza is the only one who admitted to opening the door.
Another marine, Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, admitted to participating in the shootings but claimed he followed Wuterich into the bedroom and didn't know women and children were there due to poor visibility. However, in later statements obtained by the BBC, Tatum reveals he saw children in the room and shot them, following his training to aim for the chest and head.
Maloney believes Mendoza and Tatum were the two marines who shot Safa's family, with Tatum firing across the head of the bed after Mendoza entered first. When confronted, Mendoza didn't respond, and Tatum, through his lawyer, expressed a desire to move on from Haditha, never retracting his testimony as one of the shooters.
Maloney suggests the prosecution wanted Wuterich to be the primary shooter, but before he could testify, Wuterich's trial ended in a plea deal. Wuterich claimed memory loss about the events in Safa's house and pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty, a charge unrelated to the killings.
Wuterich's lawyers argue the punishment was minimal, like a slap on the wrist, and that the government paid witnesses to lie, granting them immunity. They believe the trial was a show, never intended to give voice to the victims.
The US Marine Corps stands by its commitment to fair and open proceedings, stating they won't reopen the investigation without substantial new evidence. Yet, Safa, now 33 and a mother of three, struggles to comprehend why no marine was punished for her family's deaths.
When shown the video of Mendoza, she believes he should have been imprisoned immediately and never seen daylight again. The pain of her family's loss remains fresh, as if it happened yesterday.
Safa's plea for justice is powerful: 'I want those responsible to be held accountable and punished by law. It's been almost 20 years, and that's the real crime.'
But what do you think? Was justice truly served in this tragic case? Do you believe the US military's handling of the investigation was adequate, or does it raise concerns about potential cover-ups and the treatment of Iraqi civilians during the war?
