jury of nine officers was seated Tuesday in the court-martial of a Marine accused of karate-kicking a hooded, handcuffed Iraqi prisoner in the chest. The prisoner of war later died. Sgt. Gary Pittman, 40, could get two years in a military prison if found guilty of assault and willfully disobeying a lawful order in what is believed to be the first court-martial connected to the death of a prisoner in Iraq. Pittman is accused of kicking Nagem Hatab, who had been rumored to be an official of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and part of the ambush of a U.S. Army convoy that left 11 soldiers dead and led to the capture of Pfc. Jessica Lynch and five others. The jury was chosen from a pool of 13 officers based at Camp Pendleton. Hatab, 52, is among 37 Iraqi and Afghan prisoners whose deaths are under investigation. --More 2258 Local Time 1958 GMT
