Combat stress, drinking, and popping pills may have contributed to a brutal rape-murder by U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq, the Associated Press reported Aug. 9.

PFC Justin Cross, testifying at a hearing on the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Mahmoudiya and the murder of the girl and her family, said soldiers often drank whiskey and took prescription painkillers to relieve the stress of serving in Iraq. "It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up. You just hit a point where you're like, 'If I die today, I die.' You're just walking a death walk," said Cross.

The soldiers implicated in the rape and slayings reportedly were drinking before the attack on the girl's home began.

Lawyers for the four soldiers facing a possible court-martial are expected to use combat stress as a primary defense if the case goes forward.

Cross said that the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division based near Mahmoudiya were "full of despair." Soldiers involved in the slaying reportedly got alcohol for an Iraqi civilian, although drinking is against military rules in Iraq.