Military prosecutors have indicted a San Diego based Marine officer on suspicion of assaulting three Iraqi civilians during a combat deployment last spring.
The officer is second lieutenant Nathan P. Phan stationed at Camp Pendleton. Phan is also accused of making a false official statement in connection with the alleged crime.
The incident allegedly happened in April in Hamdaniya -- west of Baghdad.
The case is separate from another criminal proceeding involving marines from the the same unit charged with killing Iraqi civilians in Hamdaniya.
