Iraqi diplomat says cousin killed by U.S.

NEW YORK, July 2 (UPI) -- Iraq's U.N. ambassador says his cousin, a 21-year-old student, was killed in cold blood by U.S. Marines.

The BBC reports Samir Sumaidaie sent a letter to other ambassadors describing the death of Mohammed al-Sumaidaie.

Sumaidaie said his cousin was visiting his family in the village of al-Sheikh Hadid when a party of Marines came to the house on June 25, searching for weapons.

The ambassador said his cousin, an engineering student eager to practice his English, greeted the Marines at the door and then took them to a room where the family kept a rifle, although they did not have any ammunition. Sumaidaie said no one in the family saw the young man alive again.

"In the bedroom, Mohammed was found dead and laying in a clotted pool of his blood," the ambassador said. "A single bullet had penetrated his neck."

U.S. officials promised an investigation.