Courts-martial have been ordered for four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a teenage Iraqi girl and killing her and her family last March, the United Press International (UPI) reported today. Military investigators at Fort Campbell, Ky., learned five soldiers had been drinking and playing cards when they allegedly decided to raid the house in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. One of the soldiers, Steven Green, is no longer in the military and faces charges in civilian court, CNN reported. A military hearing in August heard how some of the group allegedly held the 14-year-old girl down as she was raped and then shot several times. The girl's parents and her 5-year-old sister were also shot to death. Special Agent Benjamin Bierce of the Army's Criminal Investigation Division said no trial date has been set for Spec. James Barker, 23; Sgt. Paul Cortez, 23; Pfc. Jesse Spielman, 21; and Pfc. Bryan Howard, 19. Cortez and Spielman could face the death penalty if convicted, the report said.
