Iraqi leader criticizes U.S. troops’ immunity

Iraq’s prime minister called for an independent investigation of a rape-slaying in which a former U.S. soldier was charged. He questioned the immunity from Iraqi courts of U.S. troops.

By Kim Gamel

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki on Wednesday demanded an independent inquiry into the rape-slaying of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family, saying the immunity from Iraqi prosecution enjoyed by U.S. forces “encouraged them to commit such crimes.”

Maliki, whose brief tenure has been marked by several high-profile allegations of abuse by U.S. forces, called for an Iraqi investigation into the March 12 attack — or at least a joint investigation.

He also said the agreements under which U.S.-led coalition troops enjoy immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts should be reviewed.

”We believe that the immunity given to members of coalition forces encouraged them to commit such crimes in cold blood [and] that makes it necessary to review it,” Maliki told reporters in Kuwait.

Maliki spoke two days after former Army Pfc. Steve D. Green was charged in federal court in Charlotte, N.C., with rape and four counts of murder. He was held without bond. At least four other U.S. soldiers still in Iraq are under investigation in the attack, which occurred near the town of Mahmoudiya.

In Baghdad, an American military spokesman stressed that the U.S. command was taking the allegations seriously and would discuss the prime minister’s demands when he returns from a tour of Persian Gulf countries.

”We are here as guests of the Iraqi government. They are a sovereign nation,” Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. “When the prime minister gets back, the coalition will engage with him and discuss what he wants to discuss.”

Unrest in Iraq continued as at least 24 people were killed Wednesday in attacks nationwide, including six who died in a car bombing outside a Sunni mosque in a mostly Shiite area of northwestern Baghdad. Fourteen others were wounded in that attack, police said.

Elsewhere, a suicide car bomber struck a new Iraqi police station in Mosul, killing at least one person and wounding seven. Gunmen also killed a teacher near his home in eastern Mosul, and a barbershop was attacked northeast of Baghdad. Two civilians, including the owner, were killed.

Associated Press reporter Diana Elias in Kuwait City contributed to this report.