The top U.S. general in Iraq, Lt.-Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, orders troops to take a refresher course in "core warrior values" and "the importance of adhering to legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield."

U.S. President George W. Bush promises to publicly disclose the results of an investigation into the Haditha killings.

• CBC STORY: U.S. troops in Iraq to get refresher in battlefield morality

May 31, 2006

U.S. President George W. Bush makes his first comments about the Haditha incident and vows to punish any marines found guilty of killing Iraqi civilians. "If in fact laws were broken, there will be punishment," he says.

• CBC STORY: Marines will be punished if found guilty of revenge killings: Bush

May 30, 2006

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announces his government will conduct its own investigation of the killings.

May 29 2006

Time runs another article on Haditha

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, says U.S. marines would face charges if the investigation into the Haditha incident shows they killed civilians in retaliation for the bomb attack.

• CBC STORY: Atrocity investigation could bring charges: top general

May 26, 2006

The New York Times and other media report that the investigation into Haditha is expected to find that a small number of marines deliberately murdered at least two-dozen unarmed civilians.

• CBC STORY: U.S. Marines may face murder charges over killings in Iraq

May 25, 2006

Gen. Michael W. Hagee flies from Washington to Iraq to give a series of speeches to his troops to emphasize compliance with the Geneva Conventions, international laws of war and U.S. military rules of engagement.

April 2006

A spokesman for the Marines says three officers in the battalion involved in Haditha have been relieved of their commands:

• Lt.-Col. Jeffrey Chessani, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion.
• Capt. James Kimber, commanding officer of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion.
• Capt. Luke McConnell, commanding officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion.

The spokesman says the three have been reassigned to new duties because of a "lack of confidence in their leadership abilities."

March 20, 2006

Aparisim Ghosh, senior international correspondent for Time, tells CBC News that the U.S. Marine Corps accused the magazine of "buying into enemy propaganda" when its reporters started asking about the Haditha.

• CBC STORY: Pentagon probes alleged marine 'rampage' in Iraq

March 19, 2006

Time magazine publishes the first report of the killings in Haditha, based on interviews with survivors and on a video taken by a local journalism student.

February 2006

The investigation reveals inaccuracies in the initial Haditha report. It finds that unarmed civilians in Haditha had been killed by marines and not by the roadside bomb.

January 2006

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is prompted to investigate the incident after U.S. military officials are given video evidence of the alleged massacre.

Nov. 20, 2005

The U.S. Marine Corp releases a report claiming a roadside bomb has killed one U.S. marine and 15 Iraqi civilians, and that eight insurgents were killed in the ensuing gun battle.

Nov. 19, 2005

A bomb kills a U.S. marine and injures two other soldiers in Haditha. Later that day, U.S. marines kill 24 Iraqis in the vicinity.

Aug. 3, 2005

Fourteen marines die in an area south of Haditha when a roadside bomb hits their armoured vehicle.

Aug. 1, 2005

Insurgents kill six marine snipers on foot patrol in Haditha. The attackers release a video purporting to show the ambush.