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Witness corroborates US Marines' version of events

"I am 90 percent sure that [damage] was caused by small arms fire."

Army Sergeant 1st Class Jason Mero

A defense witness said damage to a vehicle confirmed the version of events of a group of US Marines who said they were ambushed before they allegedly fired into a group of Afghan civilians, killing as many as 19 people.

Damage to the turret and windshield of a Marine Humvee involved in a March 4 shooting and suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan is evidence that someone fired at the vehicle, Army Sergeant 1st Class Jason Mero told a special Court of Inquiry.

Divots on the windshield, holes in a headlight and a nick on the turret all indicated that someone fired at the vehicle, he said.

The defense witness was the first to corroborate the version of events from Marines in Fox Company, who said they were fired at after a suicide bomber detonated a white van packed with explosives. Some witnesses have said they did not see anyone shooting at the six-vehicle convoy.

As many as 19 civilians were killed, according to an Army investigation, but attorneys for two Marine officers involved in the incident argue the death toll was lower.

"I am 90 percent sure that was caused by small arms fire," Mero testified about damage to a headlight. He said the headlight would have been shattered, not merely damaged, if the blast were the culprit.

A nick on the turret that protects the machine gunner had a piece of plastic lining extended to the inside, showing the bullet that made the nick was fired from outside the convoy, Mero said.

"It was possible the bullet just missed the gunner," he said.

Marks on the thick windshield glass also were too close to each other to be caused by shrapnel from the blast, he said.

Mero said he refused to change his theory of the events, even though an Air Force colonel assigned to investigate the incident pressured him to do so.

The car bomb was made from fertilizer and fuel oil and detonated by a Chinese or Russian mortar shell, he said.

Much of the day was spent in closed, classified session. An earlier witness who testified in an open session was a senior sergeant in the company who said the unit had to deal with tensions from others in the military.

"My personal gut feeling is they really didn't want us to do well," testified retired Master Sergeant Jim Elder.

Elder said the company arrived at Jalalabad airfield in February last year and was assigned to a base camp that was not ready for use. He said it had no bunks, no fuel supply for generators, no food service and had fecal matter in the drinking water.

When Marine units deployed to Iraq, "all these things were taken for granted" because there was good support, he said.

Once the hearing is completed, the panel of senior officers will write a report recommending whether the two men be charged with a crime. The panel has been at work three weeks and is expected to end next week.
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