By Dan Modlin
Bowling Green, Ky – A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning
in the case of a U-S soldier charged in connection with
a deadly attack against fellow members of the 101st
Airborne. Sergeant Hasan Akbar is accused of killing two
U-S officers and wounding fourteen other military personnel
in a grenade and rifle attack at Camp Pendleton in
Kuwait.
The attack against members of the 101st occurred on
March 23rd, 2003, as troops were preparing for possible
action in Iraq. Akbar's case was transferred to Fort Bragg,
North Carolina earlier this year, from Fort Campbell---
where the 101st Airborne is based.
Akbar's attorneys are expected to raise questions about what
impact their client's Islamic faith might have had on the way
he was treated by other U-S soldiers. If convicted in the case,
Akbar could face a death sentence.