US soldier charged with murder of comrades in Iraq

Baghdad: A US soldier who allegedly sprayed his comrades with lethal gunfire at an American base in
Baghdad has been charged with five counts of murder and one of assault, an army
spokesman said on Tuesday.

Sergeant John M Russell, whose unit is preparing to leave Iraq within months, allegedly shot dead five colleagues at a mental health counselling clinic in Camp Liberty near Baghdad's international airport on Monday.

Major General David Perkins told a news conference in the Iraqi capital that Russell of the 54th Engineers Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany was charged with five counts of murder and one charge of aggravated assault.

The case has thrown the spotlight on the psychological well-being of US service members who are serving multiple tours in combat zones like Iraq or Afghanistan and has led to a probe of the army's mental health services.

Those killed in Monday's shooting were two navy and army medical officers serving at the counselling centre and three enlisted soldiers who happened to be there at the time, Perkins said.

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Due to concerns over the state of Russell's mental health, his commanding officer about a week earlier had ordered that the soldier's weapon be confiscated and that he should go for  counselling, Perkins said.
 
"His chain of command had concerns about him. He had been undergoing counselling within the command and they had taken the immediate measure of removing his weapon," Perkins said.