Iraq Court Conviction in Kidnapping

What follows is one small part of an incredibly ugly story. I feel an obligation to include the information here at the Missing Man due to its connection to kidnappings in Iraq. An Iraqi court has just handed down sentencing of several men accused of participating in the kidnapping of two American troops.

Private First Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Private First Class Thomas Tucker, 25, of the 1st Battalion 502nd Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division were captured, tortured and killed in June 2006. I'll spare the details of what was done to the corpses. 

Just this week, on Tuesday, October 28, an Iraqi court convicted a man by the name of Ibrahim Karim al-Qaraguli as a driver of one of the vehicles used during the crime. Two co-defendants were acquitted.

Iraqi court convicts U.S. soldiers' killer
By By Alissa J. Rubin, International Herald Tribune, October 28, 2008

The killings of Menchaca and Tucker were said to be in retaliation for the brutal rape of a 14-year girl by a group of U.S. troops from the same brigade. The troops murdered she and her family, including a younger sister, in what is now known as the Al-Mahmudiyah killings. To hide any evidence, the troops set the 14-year old girl's body on fire. In U.S. federal court, the trial of Pfc. Steven D. Green for murder and sexual assault remains pending. Three of his co-conspirators plead guilty and are serving long sentences. A fourth served two years for lying to protect the others.