US Soldiers gang rape 14 year old Iraqi Girl

By Zachary Matthew

05/17/2026

On March 12, 2006, U.S. soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment, including Private Steven Green, dressed in civilian-style clothing and left their checkpoint near Mahmudiyah, Iraq. They entered the home of 14-year-old Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi and her family. According to court testimony, the soldiers killed Abeer’s parents and her younger sister. Specialist Paul E. Cortez and Specialist James P. Barker participated in the gang-rape of Abeer, along with Green. Private Jesse V. Spielman acted as a lookout. After the assault, Green shot and killed Abeer.

The perpetrators attempted to burn the bodies and stage the scene to appear as the work of insurgents.Steven Green was later discharged from the Army and convicted in U.S. civilian court. He received a life sentence without parole and died by suicide in prison in 2014. Cortez, Barker, and Spielman were tried in military courts and received sentences of 100, 90, and 110 years respectively. They became eligible for parole after serving about 10 years (mid-to-late 2010s), though they have remained incarcerated at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth based on available public information.

Speaking of depraved actions in conflict, on February 28, 2026, during the opening day of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Hormozgan province. The school was located adjacent to an IRGC naval facility. The strike — attributed to outdated targeting data — killed over 150 people, the majority of them children. Multiple reports, including eyewitness accounts from medics, describe a follow-up strike (a so-called “double tap”) that hit while survivors and rescuers were responding, increasing the civilian toll. U.S. officials have acknowledged an ongoing investigation into the incident and the surrounding targeting process.

While the U.S. military investigated and prosecuted the soldiers responsible for the Mahmudiyah crimes, accountability for civilian casualties in airstrikes remains a persistent and contentious issue across many conflicts, including those involving Israeli forces.