SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 11 (Reuters) - The military officer overseeing the case against a U.S. Marine charged with murder in the November 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha has recommended that the charges be dropped.

Lt. Col. Paul Ware, who heard evidence against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt during a five-day hearing in June, made the recommendation in an 18-page report to Lt. Gen. James Mattis released late on Tuesday.

Mattis, the top commander of the Marines fighting in Iraq, will decide whether or not Sharratt must proceed to court-martial, the military version of a trial.

"Whether this was a brave act of combat against the enemy or tragedy of misperception born out of conducting combat with an enemy that hides among innocents, Lance Cpl. Sharratt's actions were in accord with the rules of engagement and use of force," Ware said in the recommendation.

Sharratt, 22, is one of seven Marines charged in the Haditha killings. He was part of a squad traveling through the town when it was hit by a roadside bomb that killed a well-liked Marine and injured two others.

Sharratt was charged with the murder of three Iraqi brothers. He testified that he shot them during a confrontation inside one house where two of them had AK-47 rifles.

Three Marines and four officers were charged in the killings. Sharratt and two others face murder charges, while four officers were charged with dereliction of duty and filing false reports of the incident.

Sharratt's attorneys issued a written statement praising the decision and criticizing the "hysteria of some elements of the press and certain members of Congress."

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