A justified act, as it should be.
An American soldier who was caught on film shooting an unarmed Iraqi man lying still inside a mosque during an attack on Fallujah last year has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
The unnamed marine was cleared by investigators who said he was acting in self-defence.
The shooting, captured by news channel NBC, took place during a fierce street battle in in Fallujah at the beginning of November last year.
Soldiers had been warned that insurgents could fake death to lure them into traps.
At the time, the soldier said that the man on the ground had moved. He then shouted out before firing at the man.
According to reports, the marine is also said to have shot three other unarmed insurgents inside the mosque.
Another marine is still under investigation for a separate shooting inside the mosque where forces discovered a large cache of weapons.
These are the actions that are forced upon our troops by the tactics of our enemy.
Still, it’s a shame this video ever saw the light of day, for all the damage it caused. This non-story carried far more resonance in the American and global media than the Fallujah campaign itself, one of the most spectacular examples of urban assault in history.