The Bush administration has promised full public disclosure of the results of a U.S. military investigation into the alleged killings of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines last year.

Tony Snow

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday the Department of Defense has taken an active and aggressive role in the probe of the deaths in the Iraqi city of Haditha.

Snow said he was assured by the U.S. military that investigators will release all the details of the alleged killings after the probe is complete.

The military investigation involves an incident last November when U.S. Marines are alleged to have deliberately killed at least 15 civilians following the death of a fellow Marine by a suicide bomb.

Nouri al-Maliki

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki denounced the alleged killings and said he would launch his own investigation.

Mr. Maliki told British radio Tuesday the civilians were - in his words - "victims of the wrong operation."

U.S. news magazine Time report earlier this year regarding the incident has prompted calls for an investigation as well as accusations of a cover-up.

U.S. Democratic congressman John Murtha, an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, has said as many as 24 civilians died in the incident.

He said he has seen reports showing the U.S. Marines shot people inside houses and in a taxi after the roadside bomb killed the Marine.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.