BAGHDAD - An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced to death by hanging a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militant for the grisly 2006 killing of three U.S. Soldiers south of Baghdad.
The three were ambushed June 16, 2006 while at an isolated checkpoint near the Euphrates River. The brazen attack came during a time of particularly intense fighting in predominantly Sunni areas just south of Baghdad where al-Qaida fighters were active. At the time, the area was known as the Triangle of Death.
David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was found dead at the site of the checkpoint. The two other 101st soldiers were kidnapped, sparking a massive search effort by the military.
The mutilated bodies of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were found three days later near a power station, not far from the checkpoint.
