Five Royal Marines Charged With Murder

Five Royal Marines have been charged with murder over the death of an insurgent in Afghanistan last year.

Seven marines were arrested on Thursday, and the Royal Military Police (RMP) detained two more marines on suspicion of murder, one on Friday and the other on Saturday.

It took the total number of arrests to nine. Four have since been released without charge, pending further inquiries.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The RMP has referred the cases of the remaining five Royal Marines to the independent Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA).

"Following direction from the SPA these marines have now been charged with murder and they remain in custody pending court proceedings.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further on this ongoing investigation."

The incident, which did not involve civilians, happened while the Marines were based in Helmand.

The arrests are thought to be the first time UK servicemen have been held on suspicion of such charges during the conflict in Afghanistan.