A US army tank company commander told his court-martial today that his shooting of an unarmed Iraqi wounded in a chase was “honourable” and “the right thing to do”.

Captain Rogelio Maynulet, 30, denies assault with intent to commit murder south of Baghdad last May. If convicted he faces 20 years in prison.

Giving evidence at his trial at a US base in Wiesbaden, Germany, Maynulet described his company’s mission and the events that led him to fire twice upon the Iraqi, maintaining that the man was too badly injured to survive.

“He was in a state that I didn’t think was justified – I had to put him out of his misery,” Maynulet said.

He argued that the killing “was the right thing to do, it was the honourable thing to do”.

Prosecutors at the court-martial say Maynulet violated military rules of engagement by shooting an Iraqi who was wounded and unarmed.

Maynulet’s 1st Armoured Division tank company had been on patrol near Kufa when it was alerted to a car thought to be carrying a driver for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and another militiaman loyal to the Shiite cleric.

They chased the vehicle and fired at it, wounding both the passenger, who fled and was later captured, and the driver. The killing was filmed by a US drone surveillance aircraft.

Prosecutors grilled Maynulet on why he didn’t treat the Iraqi, pointing out that he had been trained for medical emergency relief.

Maynulet said the company’s medic had told him: “He’s gone, there’s nothing we can do.” He said he wouldn’t question the expertise of his medic.

Maynulet appeared relaxed and spoke confidently, recounting the events in great detail.

Asked if he had tried to hide the killing or cover it up, Maynulet replied: “No, not at all.”

The US military has referred to the Iraqi driver only as an “unidentified paramilitary member”, but relatives named him as Karim Hassan, 36. The family does not dispute that he was working for al-Sadr.

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