Berlin  - The US Army said Wednesday it has charged three US soldiers with murder and obstruction of justice over an incident in which four Iraqis were killed last year and their bodies dumped in a ditch near Baghdad.

The Army's multinational training command in Grafenwoehr, Germany said the murder charges were laid Tuesday against Master Sergeant John E Hatley, 40, sergeant Joseph P Mayo, 27, and Sergeant Michael P Leahy jr., 26.

In addition to the killings in March or April 2007 at or near Baghdad, Hatley and Leahy were also charged with another murder in early January 2007 in Baghdad. The men were in Iraq with the 18th Infantry Regiment of the Army.

The army did not specify where the court martial would take place, saying only that the cases "will be processed in accordance with normal procedures." It did not say how many Iraqis were killed.

Last week the New York Times reported that the soldiers executed four Iraqi prisoners with apparent ties to the Shiite al-Mahdi Army in the incident in March or April.

They were shot in the head while blindfolded and handcuffed. Their bodies were then left in a canal west of Baghdad, the newspaper reported, quoting statements to army investigators by the soldiers. (dpa)