New Evidence Implicates Two US Marines in Haditha Massacre, 20 Years After Iraq Family Killings

Bullet holes scar the front door of a modest home in Haditha, Iraq, marking the site where 24 civilians, including four women and six children, were killed by US Marines on 19 November 2005. Among the dead was the family of 13-year-old Safa Younes, the sole survivor.

A BBC Eye investigation has uncovered new evidence suggesting that two US Marines—never charged—directly participated in the killings inside Safa’s family home, raising serious questions about accountability within the US military.

The Haditha massacre remains one of the most notorious incidents of the Iraq War. US Marines claimed they were responding to a roadside bomb attack that killed one of their squad members. Safa, now 33, insists the victims were unarmed civilians: “We hadn’t been accused of anything. We didn’t even have any weapons in the house.”

Newly discovered pre-trial footage reveals Lance Corporal Humberto Mendoza, the squad’s most junior member, admitting to shooting Safa’s father at the front door—even though he was unarmed. Forensic expert Michael Maloney, who examined the crime scene in 2006, concludes that Mendoza and Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum were the two Marines who entered the bedroom and shot women and children.

Mendoza had initially claimed he did not enter the bedroom, but audio recordings from the trial of squad leader Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich contradict this. Tatum’s own statements admit he identified women and children in the room before shooting them. Charges against both men were dropped, and neither faced prosecution.

Wuterich was the only Marine to face trial in 2012, but he avoided punishment for murder by pleading guilty to negligent dereliction of duty—a charge unrelated to the killings. His lawyers and military prosecutors have since acknowledged that the legal process was deeply flawed.

Safa continues to live in Haditha with her three children. She struggles to comprehend how no one has been held accountable for the deaths of her family. “It’s as if it happened last year. I still think about it,” she says. “Those who did this should be punished by the law. That’s the real crime.”

The US Marine Corps told the BBC that it would not reopen the investigation unless substantial new, admissible evidence emerges.

Haditha remains a stark reminder of the lasting human cost of war and the challenges of ensuring accountability for military actions.