Did Marines Massacre Iraqi Civilians?

May 26, 2006 -- -- The commandant of the Marine Corps has traveled to Iraq with an explicit warning for his troops to guard against what he calls "the risk of becoming indifferent to the loss of human life," as senior Pentagon officials are bracing for an investigation into the killing of 24 Iraqis last November in the town of Haditha.

The officials told ABC News the investigation will likely result in criminal charges that could range from dereliction of duty to murder. Investigators say six of those killed were children ranging in age from 2 to 11.

A videotape shot by an Iraqi journalism student showed the bloody aftermath. One man said, "A whole family was wiped out … they were innocent people."

As this unfolds, military officials said they feared Haditha would come to mean what My Lai -- the site of a massacre of Vietnamese civilians by American troops in 1968 -- had come to mean for an earlier generation.

The incident is still under investigation, but several senior military officials say at least seven Marines could face criminal charges.

Although the investigation is not complete, the Pentagon has already briefed key members of Congress on the details of the investigation. After a briefing on Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner told reporters, "There are established facts that incidents of a very serious nature did take place."

ABC News has been told by several senior military officials that investigators have so far established the following:

-- Early in the morning of Nov. 19, a roadside bomb hit a small convoy of 12 Marines, killing Marine Lance Cpl. Lance Terrazas. All the Marines belonged to Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 1st Marine Regiment.

-- Shortly after the bomb went off, the Marines saw a taxi approaching and fired, killing five Iraqi men. Military officials say all the Iraqis turned out to be unarmed.

-- Some of the Marines, including a sergeant, then entered a cluster of nearby homes from where, they later claimed, they had taken enemy fire. Military officials now say they believe there was no enemy fire and that the killings were unprovoked. By the time they left, six civilians had been killed, including a 3-year-old boy.