Probe reveals US troops killed civilians in Baghdad incident

Baghdad: An investigation into an incident in which US troops killed three Iraqis in Baghdad last month showed the victims were civilians, the US military said.

The US military had said that troops fired at a car near the Baghdad airport during the June 25 incident, calling the three people inside the vehicle “criminals''.

"A thorough investigation determined that the driver and passengers were law abiding citizens of Iraq," the military said in a statement released late on Sunday.

The statement also said troops involved in the incident were not at fault.

According to the military statement, a convoy travelling near the airport pulled off to the side of the road when one vehicle experienced problems on June 25.

While the vehicle was being checked, a civilian car approached at what soldiers believed was high speed, the statement said.

"Soldiers perceived the rapidly approaching vehicle as a threat and executed established escalation of force measures. When the vehicle failed to respond to the soldiers' warning measures, it was engaged with small arms fire," the statement added.

The result of the investigation comes at a sensitive time for Washington, which is negotiating a new security deal with Baghdad to govern the presence of US troops in Iraq when a UN mandate expires at the end of the year.