Sgt. Evan Vela, 23, cried Thursday as he recounted shooting an unarmed Iraqi man under the order of his staff sergeant. He then went on to describe a subsequent conversation in which the sergeant allegedly proposed a cover-up of the shooting.

AP: BAGHDAD – A U.S. soldier cried Thursday as he told a court-martial that his staff sergeant ordered him to shoot an unarmed Iraqi. He said the sergeant then laughed and told the trooper to finish the job as the dying man convulsed on the ground.

The military reported, meanwhile, that it had opened an investigation into the deaths of five women and four children this week in a village where American forces had carried out ground and air assaults.

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