WASHINGTON — Five U.S. soldiers in
Afghanistan have been charged with
murdering three Afghan civilians, The
Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The newspaper cited Army charging
documents as saying the infantry personnel,
including one staff sergeant, murdered the
civilians between January and May of this year.

The Post cited military court documents and
interviews with people familiar with the case to
allege the killings "were committed essentially
for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for
hashish and alcohol."

One member of the platoon has been charged
with possessing "a skull taken from an Afghan
person's corpse," the paper said.

The accused, who also include seven other
members of the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade
charged with lesser offences, denied
wrongdoing through lawyers and family
members, the newspaper reported.

The five members of the platoon accused of
murder began talking about creating a "kill
team" in December 2009 and murdered their
first victim on January 25 in the village of La
Mohammed Kalay in Kandahar, the Post said.

The soldiers were assigned at the time to
provide security for a meeting between U.S.
officers and tribal elders.

One of the alleged killing involved an Afghan
cleric, the paper reported.

Pentagon officials were not immediately
available for comment.


Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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We reap what we sow.


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Republicans are the Party of No:
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