LOS ANGELES: The last Marine officer charged in the 2005 killings of 24 civilians in the central Iraqi city of Haditha will be court-martialed starting Tuesday, military officials said.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 30, will face charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice for his alleged involvement in the killings.

Wuterich, the squadron leader, is the only one who still faces charges in the killings, which took place after a roadside bomb killed a Marine.

The other seven accused have either been acquitted or had the charges against them dropped.

All of the officers were initially handed murder or failure to investigate charges, but Wuterich is the last to face reduced voluntary manslaughter charges.

His trial will begin at 8:30 am (1500 GMT) on Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, the sprawling Marine base outside Los Angeles.

The highest ranking Marine officer charged and later cleared in the killings, former lieutenant colonel Jeffrey Chessani, left the service in July.

The Marines said in a press release issued after the violence in Haditha that 15 Iraqis had been killed by the roadside bomb that killed the Marine.

But a subsequent investigation by Time magazine showed most of the dead were killed as Marines swept through three houses near the site of the bombing.

Lawyers for the Marines said insurgents hid behind civilian homes and began shooting on the officers, sparking a shootout that would fall within legal rules of engagements.

But the plaintiffs said there were no such insurgents and the Marines initiated a bloody, three-hour rampage in revenge for the death of their comrade, even killing five taxi cab riders who were approaching the neighborhood.

Among the victims, 10 were women or children, killed at point-blank range. – AFP