WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (AFP) - The US military on Tuesday promised a thorough investigation into the killing of a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi prisoner by a US marine in Fallujah -- an act filmed by a journalist and now beamed around the world.
NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said he saw the marine raise his rifle and fire point blank at the head of the man, who was slumped against a wall in a mosque.
US networks and television channels in other countries have widely shown Sites's footage, taken on Saturday, but halted it in the second before the shot was fired.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in Ecuador for meetings with his Latin American counterparts, had little to say about the incident.
"I've not seen that," said Rumsfeld. "I've been told that an American general has addressed the subject and any discussion of what may or may not have taken place which I'm not knowledgeable about would clearly be handled by the military forces and the leadership there in Iraq".
The First Marine Division said in a statement released in Iraq that the marine "has been withdrawn from the battlefield pending the results of the investigation."
The military said it wanted to determine whether the marine acted in self-defence, violated military law or failed to comply with the international Law of Armed Conflict.
"We follow the Law of Armed Conflict and hold ourselves to a high standard of accountability," the marine commander in Fallujah, Lieutenant General John Sattler, said in a statement.
"The facts of this case will be thoroughly pursued to make an informed decision and to protect the rights of all persons involved," he said.
Sites filmed the video sequence while following US marines during an offensive against insurgents in Fallujah.
According to a pool report filed by Sites, the unidentified mosque in southern Fallujah was stormed by marines on Friday. Ten insurgents inside were killed and another five were wounded.
The wounded Iraqis were left inside the mosque as the marines continued their patrol. Other US military units were to evacuate the wounded.
On Saturday, two US military units arrived at the mosque after receiving reports that the building had been retaken by insurgents. The units entered the front and back of the mosque and Sites said he heard shots fired inside.
A marine who emerged from the mosque told an inquiring lieutenant that people had been shot inside. When the lieutenant asked if the people were armed, the soldier just shrugged, Sites said.
Once inside the mosque, the NBC correspondent said he saw five injured Iraqi prisoners who had been left behind on Friday, four of whom had been shot again. He said one appeared dead and another severely wounded.
A fifth man, said Sites, was lying under a blanket propped against a wall.
One of the marines noticed the man was still breathing, Sites said, adding that the prostrate man did not appear to be armed.
The marine was then heard to say "He's fucking faking he's dead. He's faking he's fucking dead."
Sites said he then saw the marine raise his rifle and fire point blank at the man's head.
"Well, he's dead now," another marine shouted.
The reporter said the marine who shot the Iraqi later said he did not know the man was unarmed.
The reports said the unnamed marine had been wounded in the face the day before the killing but had returned to duty almost immediately.
Lieutenant Colonel Bob Miller, a military judge leading the investigation of the mosque incident, told NBC in an interview that the rules of engagement in Iraq "authorise the marines to use force when presented with a hostile act or hostile intent."
Miller added that any wounded insurgent "who does not pose a threat would not be considered hostile."
11/16/2004 18:27 GMT - AFP