Elite US Navy SEAL facing war crimes charges for killings in Iraq

Stabbing a teenage prisoner to death, picking off a young girl and an old man with a sniper rifle and firing a heavy machinegun into a residential area: these are some of the charges facing an elite US Navy SEAL on trial for war crimes while deployed in Iraq.

Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a decorated 39-year-old veteran of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, is still a hero in the eyes of many Americans and the rightwing Fox News channel -- and his case may even become a factor in next year's presidential elections.

Around 40 Republican members of Congress have written an open letter demanding Gallagher -- who denies the charges against him -- be set free until he stands trial. One has even called on President Donald Trump to step in and have the case dismissed.

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