The Haditha Massacre, One Year Later

Oct. 30, 2006 — -- Almost a year ago, 12-year-old Sofa Younis lost her entire family.

Her home in Haditha, Iraq, was raided by American Marines on Nov. 19, 2005.

"They broke into the bathroom. They detonated a hand grenade into the bathroom. We were all sitting in a room. Then comes the American soldier, and [he] shot us all," Sofa said. "I pretended to be dead, and he did not know about me."

Sofa survived, but 24 Iraqi civilians died that day, including six children and four women. All 24 were killed by U.S. Marines from the Kilo Company.

American military authorities have investigated the events of that day and have compiled a 3,500-page report that has yet to be released.

The Kilo Company has been sent home to Camp Pendleton in California. Two officers from the company have been relieved from duty, but no charges have yet been brought against any members of the company.

After arriving in Haditha just 48 hours after the killings, embedded photojournalist Lucien Read did not think he was looking at a crime scene.

"What I was told when I got back and what I saw that day in the house where the bodies were, everything sort of fit together and not in a way that said to me, 'An awful crime has taken place here.' It said to me, 'That happens every day in Iraq,'" Read said. "This is just one more awful day in a long string of them."

According to an article written by William Langewiesche in the current issue of Vanity Fair, the morning of Nov. 19, 2005, began normally for the Kilo Company.

"This patrol was delivering a hot breakfast to an outpost, and on the way back the fourth Humvee was hit by a very powerful improvised land mine known as an IED," Langewiesche said.

Two Marines in the Humvee were injured, and a third, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, was killed.

Langewiesche argues that the subsequent deaths of the Iraqi civilians happened under the rules of military engagement.

"The accusation is criminal conduct, murder and war crimes as opposed to legitimate killing and unfortunately collateral casualties," Langewiesche said. "It seems quite clear to me, though, having spent quite a bit of time on this, for the most part the killing was not a question of murder."