In his first public comment on the alleged killings of 24 Iraqis by U.S. marines, U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the news "troubled" him, CNN Television reported.

During an Oval Office photo opportunity with the president of Rwanda, Bush said he was "troubled by the initial news stories."

"I'm mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment," he said.

Bush said had discussed the issue with Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"If in fact these allegations are true," he said. "the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that culture, that proud culture, will be reinforced. And that those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished."

Although two Pentagon investigations have been launched, the details of what happened in Haditha, a western Iraqi town on Nov. 19, 2005, are still murky.

What is known is that a bomb rocked a military convoy and left one U.S. marine dead. Marines then shot dead 5 civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into three homes and killed 19 more unarmed Iraqis.

The incident led to comparisons from U.S. commentators of the March 16, 1968, killing of over 500 unarmed civilians by U.S. troops in the Vietnamese village of My Lai.

U.S. military officials said last week that murder charges could eventually be brought against some U.S. marines for the bloody killings at Haditha.

However, they said it is still a month away before conclusions could be made on the investigation.

Source: Xinhua