CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Jan 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine who shot as many as 10 bullets into an Iraqi grandfather dragged from his house in the middle of the night pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder and other criminal charges. Cpl. Trent Thomas was charged with murder, kidnapping and other charges in the April 2006 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania, Iraq. According to earlier testimony in the case, Thomas shot up to 10 bullets into the man, who was a neighbor of a man Marines had sought to kidnap and kill.
Children stand in the compound of a relative's residence, at which they are now staying after their families left their homes in Baghdad for Arbil, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad, January 19, 2007. Tens of thousands of people have fled Baghdad, the epicentre of violence in Iraq. The United Nations, launching an appeal for aid for Iraqis who have fled their homes or left the country, said this month about one in eight Iraqis is now displaced. Many, including non-Kurds, have taken refuge in Kurdistan -- a largely autonomous region in the northern mountains that has been a haven from attacks plaguing other areas since the U.S. invasion of 2003. Picture taken January 19, 2007. To match feature MIGRATION-IRAQ/ARBIL.
