BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 20, SPA -- Three members of the 101st Airborne Division have been charged with murder in the May shooting deaths of three Iraqi prisoners, the U.S. military announced Monday. Pentagon sources told CNN the soldiers claimed the prisoners were attempting to flee at the time. The three soldiers have been identified as Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Pfc. Corey Claggett and Spc. William B. Hunsacker of the 101st Airborne’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, the military said. All three face charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in connection with the prisoners’ deaths. They also are accused of obstructing justice and threatening a fellow soldier who witnessed the shootings, telling him they would kill him if he talked. If convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, they could face sentences ranging from five years in prison for threatening a witness to a possible death sentence for murder. --SPA 20/06/2006 13:24 ت م www.spa.gov.sa/369965