‘US troops killed Afghan civilians for sport’

WASHINGTON - A group of rogue US troops formed a “kill team” and randomly killed civilians in Afghanistan as part of sport, The Washington Post reported citing military documents.

Members of a platoon from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, have been charged with dismembering and photographing corpses as well as hoarding a skull and other human bones.

The military documents allege that five members of the unit staged three murders in Kandahar province between January and May.

There were attempts to impede investigation with a gang assault on a soldier who blew the whistle.

Citing a stage-managed killing of an Afghan man Jan 15 in the village of La Mohammed Kalay in Afghanistan, the documents said, one soldier created a ruse that they were under attack, tossing a fragmentary grenade on the ground. Then others opened fire.

The unprovoked attack was the start of a months-long shooting spree against civilians that resulted in some of the worst allegations against the American soldiers since the US invasion in 2001, The Post said.

The subsequent investigation has also raised accusations if the military ignored warnings that out-of-control soldiers were committing atrocities.

Army officials declined to comment. But the Post said that a review of military documents and interviews with people familiar with the probe suggest the killings were committed essentially for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for hashish and alcohol.

The accused, through attorneys and family members, deny wrongdoing.

According to statements given to investigators, the accused began talking about forming a “kill team” in December, shortly after the arrival of a new member, Staff Sgt. Calvin R. Gibbs, 25.

Gibbs, whom some defendants have described as the ringleader, confided to his new mates that it had been easy for him to get away with “stuff” when he served in Iraq in 2004, the statements revealed.