Probe of Iraq Taxi Slayings Hits Dead End (US Gives Up on Finding Culprits

TIKRIT, Iraq -- The U.S. military closed an investigation into the January killings of four Iraqis whose deaths were blamed on American troops, saying it couldn't find the culprits, the Army said Saturday.

No one ever claimed responsibility for the Jan. 3 deaths of the Iraqis, among them a woman and a 7-year-old boy, who were killed by heavy machine gun fire on a taxi. The taxi driver, the sole survivor, blamed American troops.

Two investigations were conducted, the latter a formal inquiry ordered by U.S. military commanders in Baghdad late last month and conducted by the Tikrit-based 4th Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment.

"The investigation couldn't determine if it was military or a private security firm who killed the people in the car," Division spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle told The Associated Press on Saturday.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-car-slayings,0,7559023.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

This from the people who brought you the heroic rescue of Jessica Lynch.

Oops.