US soldiers in ‘kill team’ charged with killing civilians and keeping fingers as trophies

Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men, allegedly killed for sport, in separate attacks this year. The other seven are accused of covering up the murders and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders.

The killings were reportedly carried out by members of a Stryker infantry brigade based in Kanfahar province in southern Afghanistan.

According to legal documents, discussion of killing Afghan civilians began after the arrival of Sergeant Calvin Gibbs last November. Investigators said Gibbs, 25, formed a plan with another soldier, Jeremy Morlock, 22, and other members of the unit to form a “kill team”. They killed at least three Afghan civilians while on patrol.

The first target was Gul Mudin, killed "by means of throwing a fragmentary grenade at him and shooting him with a rifle", according to documents. Morlock and another soldier, Andrew Holmes, 19, threw a grenade and subsequently fired at Mudin.

The second victim, Marach Agha, was shot and killed a month later, allegedly shot by Gibbs. The third victim, Mullah Adadhdad was killed in May after beinng attacked with a grenade and shot.

The Army Times reported that a least one of the soldiers collected the fingers of the victims as souvenirs and that some of them posed for photographs with the bodies.

Five soldiers, Gibbs, Morlock, Holmes, Michael Wagnon and Adam Winfield, are accused of murder and aggravated assault among other charges. All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

Following the arrest of the original five accused in June, seven other soldiers were charged last month with attempting to cover up the killings and violent assault on the soldier who reported the “kill team” after catching them smoking hashish while on duty.