Back Kill-Team-Morde in Afghanistan German کشتار بخش میوند FA Ubojstva u okrugu Majvand Croatian امریکی فوجی کش عملہ، افغانستان UR
| Maywand District murders | |
|---|---|
| Part of War in Afghanistan | |
 (L to R): Andrew Holmes, Michael Wagnon, Jeremy Morlock, and Adam Winfield – members of the Kill Team soldiers who are responsible for the murders. | |
| Location | Kandahar Province, Afghanistan |
| Date | January – May 2010 |
| Target | Afghan civilians |
Attack type | War crime, staged murder, serial killings, human trophy collecting, terrorism |
| Weapons | M4 carbines, M249 light machine guns, grenades |
| Deaths | At least 3 Afghan civilians |
| Perpetrators |
|
| Motive | Thrill |
| Convictions | Gibbs and Morlock: Premeditated murder (3 counts) Holmes: Unpremeditated murder (3 counts) Winfield: Involuntary manslaughter |
| Sentence | Gibbs: Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years Morlock: 24 years in prison Holmes: 7 years in prison (paroled after 4 years) Winfield: 3 years in prison (paroled after 1 year) |
The Maywand District murders were the thrill killings of at least three Afghan civilians perpetrated by a group of U.S. Army soldiers from January to May 2010, during the War in Afghanistan. The soldiers, who referred to themselves as the "Kill Team",[1][2] were members of the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, and 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. They were based at FOB Ramrod in Maiwand, in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.[3][4]
During the summer of 2010, the military charged five members of the platoon with the murders of three Afghan civilians in Kandahar Province and collecting their body parts as trophies. In addition, seven soldiers were charged with crimes such as hashish use, impeding an investigation, and attacking the whistleblower Private first class Justin Stoner.[5][6][7]
In March 2011, U.S. Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock pleaded guilty to three counts of premeditated murder. He told the court that he had helped to kill unarmed native Afghans in faked combat situations. Under a plea deal, Morlock received 24 years in prison for murdering three Afghan civilians in return for testimony against other soldiers. Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, the highest-ranking soldier and the ringleader, was also convicted on three counts of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison. Private First Class Andrew Holmes pleaded guilty to murder without premeditation and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Specialist Adam C. Winfield, who informed his father after the first murder and whose father attempted to alert the Army, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison. In total, eleven of the twelve soldiers charged were convicted of crimes. All charges against the twelfth soldier, Specialist Michael Wagnon, were dropped by the U.S. military "in the interest of justice" without further explanation. PFC Justin Stoner, who initiated the case by reporting the murders to his superiors, was not charged.[8][9][10]
- ^ "Murder in Afghanistan: SPIEGEL TV's 'Kill Team' Documentary". Spiegel Online. January 4, 2011.
- ^ Hersh, Seymour Myron (March 22, 2011). "The "Kill Team" Photographs". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ Hujer, Marc (September 13, 2010). "Did US Soldiers Target Afghan Civilians? War Crime Allegations Threaten to Harm America's Image". Der Spiegel. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ Bernton, Hal (August 24, 2010). "Stryker soldiers allegedly plotted to kill Afghan civilians". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Starr, Barbara (September 10, 2010). "Army: 12 soldiers killed Afghans, mutilated corpses". CNN. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Additional charges filed in Afghan civilians' deaths". Seattle Times. August 24, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Bernton, Hal (September 8, 2010). "Stryker soldiers allegedly took corpses' fingers". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ "Court Sentences 'Kill Team' Soldier to 24 Years in Prison". Der Spiegel. March 24, 2011.
- ^ Harris, Paul (March 23, 2011). "US soldier admits killing unarmed Afghans for sport". The Guardian.
- ^ "US military drops 'kill team' charges against soldier". The Guardian. February 4, 2012.