Two U.S. soldiers charged with murder in Iraq: military

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers have been charged with murdering an Iraqi last month near the northern oil city of Kirkuk, the military said on Thursday.

Sergeant 1st Class Trey Corrales, from San Antonio, Texas, and Specialist Christopher Shore, from Winder, Georgia, were each charged with one count of premeditated murder, the military said in a statement.

The offence was alleged to have taken place on or around June 23 near Kirkuk.

The men were assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

In addition, their battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Browder, while not a suspect in the case, was relieved of his duties because of a lack of confidence in his ability to command effectively, the military said.

The charges are the latest brought against U.S. forces in Iraq. On Wednesday, a military jury in California found a U.S. Marine guilty of conspiring to kidnap and kill an Iraqi grandfather, who was shot dead last year.