Jury selection in Iraq rape case

Steven Green faces 17 charges, including murder and sexual assault

Jury selection has begun in the civilian trial of a former US soldier on charges of raping a teenage girl and killing her and her family in Iraq.

Steven Green, 22, faces 17 charges, including murder and sexual assault.

The former private will be the first ex-soldier to be charged as a civilian under a law that allows prosecution for alleged crimes committed overseas.

He faces a possible death sentence if found guilty by a civil court in Paducah, Kentucky.

Opening arguments are due to begin on 27 April.

'Personality disorder'

Four other soldiers are serving sentences of between five and 110 years for their roles in the 2006 attack.

Three had admitted holding down Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, raping her and then killing her, her parents and her younger sister at the family's home in Mahmudiya before torching the building.

Mr Green was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division for a "personality disorder" before the case came to light, and he was charged in June 2006.

In August 2007, Private Jesse Spielman was convicted of conspiracy to rape and murder and sentenced to 110 years in prison for his role in the incident.

He said he acted as a lookout for four other soldiers who carried out the attack.

Spielman was given the longest sentence of the group, while the three other soldiers pleaded guilty and received sentences between five and 100 years under plea agreements with prosecutors.