Here’s the latest news in the court martial of Hasan Akbar, accused of rolling a grenade into an officer’s tent during the Iraq War: Witness: Soldier Admitted Attack on 101st.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A prosecution witness testified Monday that a soldier charged with killing two officers in a grenade attack during the Iraq war confessed to the crimes after his arrest, saying he feared the wartime deaths of Muslims.

Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 32, of the 101st Airborne Division, faces the death penalty if convicted in the attack. Monday’s hearing was held to resolve legal issues in advance of Akbar’s court-martial.

Sgt. Eric Tanner, a brigade legal assistant, testified Akbar told a major that he attacked his fellow soldiers and said after he learned of his right not to incriminate himself that he was “ready to talk.”

When asked why he committed the attack, “Sgt. Akbar stated ‘I did it because I’m Muslim. They were going to kill Muslims and rape Muslim women,’” Tanner said.

Akbar’s lawyers have said there were no witnesses to the crime and Akbar was accused because he is Muslim. They want Akbar’s statements kept out of evidence during his trial.