Report: Two officers relieved of command in 2006 kidnap-murder of 3 troops

Left: Three 101st Airborne Division soldiers were killed in the June 16, 2006, attack. Spc. David J. Babineau, of Springfield, Mass. (top), was found dead at the scene, and two others, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston (middle) and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore. (bottom), were abducted. Their mutilated bodies were found three days later, tied together and booby-trapped with bombs.

WASHINGTON — Three U.S. soldiers slaughtered in a grisly kidnapping-murder plot south of Baghdad last June were not properly protected during a mission that was not well planned or executed, a military investigation has concluded.

Two military officers have been relieved of their commands as a result of the litany of mistakes, but neither faced criminal charges, a military official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

A report on the investigation said the platoon leader and company commander — whose names were not released — failed to provide proper supervision to the unit or enforce military standards.

Read the rest at Newsday