US Marine gets 18 months for Iraqi civilian death

CAMP PENDLETON (California): A US Marine involved in the death of an Iraqi civilian was jailed for 18 months after admitting involvement in the killing and apologising to the dead man's family.

John Jodka, 20, gave his apology to the family of Hashim Ibrahim Awad after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice during a day-long hearing at the Marines' Camp Pendleton base on Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Jodka was one of the eight US servicemen, seven Marines and a Navy medic who forced 52-year-old Awad from his home in Hamdania outside Baghdad on April 26 before shooting him and staging a cover-up.

The case is one of a string of incidents that have tarnished the reputation of US forces in Iraq.

Prosecutor John Baker said Jodka had played a part in the killing of a crippled man, a forgiving, simple man leaving 11 children without a father. Jodka had an opportunity to stop the madness but failed to do so.

Defence attorney Joseph Casas said the case was not that simple, saying the soldier had been misled by older Marines he looked up to as heroes.     

Prosecutors say the Marines targeted Awad after an attempt to track down a suspected insurgent who lived nearby proved unsuccessful.

Awad was shot dead before the squad fabricated a cover story to make it look as if he was an insurgent planting roadside bombs.

Earlier, Jodka said he had decided to admit his guilt because it was the right thing to do.