Madrid - Spain's National Court on Tuesday shelved a case against
three US soldiers for the death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso, who
was killed when a US tank fired at a Baghdad hotel where journalists
were staying in April 2003 during the Iraq war.

The court said there was not sufficient evidence to continue the
investigation, accepting the stance of prosecutors who had argued that
Couso was killed within the framework of an act of war.

A judge had earlier indicted Sergeant Thomas Gibson, who fired on
the hotel, Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp, who gave the order to
fire, and Captain Philip Wolford, the commander of the unit.

Couso, who worked for the television station Telecinco, and a
Ukrainian Reuters cameraman were killed in the attack. The United
States has maintained that the soldiers acted appropriately in
circumstances of war. (dpa)