By Marty Graham
CAMP PENDLETON, California (Reuters) – U.S. commanders rejected a local council's request for an investigation days after Marines in Iraq killed 24 civilians in the town of Haditha in November 2005, according to testimony on Saturday at a military tribunal.
The councilors’ concerns were dismissed because commanders believed the civilians died in cross-fire when troops responded to an attack by insurgents that had killed one of their own, said Maj. Dana Hyatt, who was at what he said was a 45-minute-long meeting between local officials and Marine officers.
