BAGHDAD, Sept 26: A US soldier has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of an Iraqi National Guard soldier in northern Iraq earlier this year, the US military said on Sunday.

Specialist Federico Merida, from Briscoe, North Carolina, had pleaded guilty to murder and to making false official statements during his court martial, the army said. As well as a prison sentence, he was dishonourably discharged and reduced in rank to private, a statement said.

Merida, 21, was assigned to the 30th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq, a unit attached to the 1st Infantry Division, which is based near Saddam Hussein's former hometown of Tikrit. -Reuters