CAMP PENDLETON -- Shortly before 24 civilians were killed by members of a Marine platoon in the Iraqi city of Haditha, the troops' squad leader told two of his men that if they were ever bombed, they should kill everyone in the area, a prosecution witness testified Friday.

The witness, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, made the accusation Friday morning during the second day of a hearing that will determine whether the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, will face trial on 17 murder charges. The dead included several women and children.

Throughout the hearing, defense attorneys have challenged the credibility of government witnesses who say the 27-year-old Connecticut native led the squad in the November 2005 killings.

Dela Cruz said Wuterich's comments were made in a conversation with him and another Marine, after they learned that two men from their Kilo Company platoon from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, had been injured in a bombing one week earlier.

"We found they had got hit and everyone was pretty upset about that," Dela Cruz said Friday, in response to a question from the lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan. "Sergeant Wuterich made the comment that if we ever get hit again, we should kill everybody in that vicinity."

A week later, Wuterich's squad was on a resupply mission when a roadside bomb destroyed a Humvee, killing Lance Cpl. Miguel "T.J." Terrazas and triggering the civilian killings. The deaths resulted in international condemnation when the incident came to light in a Time magazine report.

Dela Cruz, 24, was one of four original defendants charged in the killings, accused of murdering five unarmed men who emerged from a car moments after the bombing. Those charges were dropped earlier this year in exchange for his testimony.

On Friday, Dela Cruz testified that it was Wuterich who first shot those men and later asked him to lie about what happened.

"They were just standing around and some of them had their hands up," Dela Cruz said, adding he did not perceive a threat from those men until Wuterich began firing.

Dela Cruz said he shot the men after Wuterich did so to make sure they were dead. He also acknowledged later urinating on the head of one victim, something he has testified about in other Haditha hearings.

"T.J. was gone and the other two Marines were injured by the blast," he explained of that action. "My emotions took over and I really wasn't thinking right."

Under cross-examination Friday by Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, one of Wuterich's four attorneys, Dela Cruz admitted having abused detainees before the Haditha killings and said he has lied in the past about the events at Haditha.

Vokey peppered Dela Cruz with questions about inconsistencies in his testimony compared against earlier statements to investigators.

Vokey also tried to poke holes in Dela Cruz's testimony that Wuterich had told him to tell investigators that the men in the car were running from the scene and were shot by members of the Iraqi army who were with the Marines that day.

In his only public statement about the incident, Wuterich told the CBS show "60 Minutes" last year that he believed the men were insurgents and were running away when shot. That interview is scheduled to be rebroadcast Sunday.

The Marine officer presiding over the hearing, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, also questioned Dela Cruz in an attempt to clarify some of his conflicting statements.

"Did you think you could provide false information?" Ware asked about statements Dela Cruz now says are untrue.

"That was our plan, sir," Dela Cruz said.

"Did you have a version of facts you were going to say?" Ware asked.

"Just lie in general," Dela Cruz responded.

As Wuterich's parents and wife watched from the front row of the Camp Pendleton courtroom, the slightly built Marine sergeant eyed Dela Cruz intently. When the hearing concludes, Wuterich could be ordered to stand trial. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence in prison.

Marines have said the assault inside the homes -- where 19 Iraqis would die -- came as they hunted for the bomb triggerman and insurgents they believed had fired on them with rifles.

Wuterich's attorneys argue those deaths were unfortunate, but the result of a legitimate order by Lt. William Kallop, the platoon commander, who responded to the bombing and directed the Marines to conduct a "house clearing" operation.

On Thursday, the first day of the hearing, a lance corporal who took part in the killings said Wuterich ordered him to shoot a man who came to a doorway in the first home the Marines entered.

Ware also presided over similar hearings for the only other Marines ultimately charged in the killings, Lance Cpls. Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt.

Last week, Ware recommended that charges against Tatum be dropped, saying that the Marine was following Wuterich's lead and the evidence is insufficient to warrant trial. Earlier this summer, his recommendation that charges against Sharratt be dropped was upheld by the convening authority over the case, Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force.

The Haditha deaths also led to dereliction of duty charges against four officers for allegedly failing to fully investigate the incident. Charges against one officer have since been dropped, and hearings are pending for two others to determine whether they will face trial.

The fourth officer, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani who commanded the battalion at Haditha, faces four charges of dereliction of duty. A Marine battalion commander who presided over Chessani's hearing earlier this year has recommended he be tried on the charges. Whether that will happen is now up to Lt. Gen. Mattis.

The Wuterich hearing resumes Wednesday morning. His attorneys have intimated that their client won't take the stand, but will make a statement at the conclusion of the hearing.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.