Washington - A US Army soldier was found guilty Thursday by a civilian jury of murder in the slayings of an Iraqi family in 2006.

Private Steven Green, 24, was found guilty in federal court in Paducah, Kentucky, by the 12-member jury that will begin hearing evidence on Monday to decide whether he should be sentenced to death, the Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky, reported on its website.

He allegedly raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and then led the slayings of the girl, her 6-year-old sister and their parents in an attempt to cover up the rape, in a village about
35 kilometres south of Baghdad.

Three other soldiers were already convicted of roles in the case by military courts. Green was prosecuted in a civilian court because he had already been discharged from the Army when the case was brought.