WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The case against a Marine accused of murder in a 2005 incident involving the killings of Iraqi civilians in Haditha `` is simply not strong enough to prove against a reasonable doubt , '' the investigating officer said Thursday . The investigating officer has recommended that Sgt . Frank Wuterich not be tried for murder . Lt. Col. Paul Ware recommended that Sgt . Frank Wuterich face trial for lesser charges of negligent homicide . The case involved allegations that Marines killed up to two dozen Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha , Iraq , in November 2005 . Ware said the evidence indicated Wuterich `` failed to exercise due care in his own actions in supervising his Marines . '' `` When a Marine fails to exercise due care in a combat environment resulting in the death of innocents , the charge of negligent homicide , not murder , is the appropriate offense , '' he said in a statement . The recommendation goes to Lt. Gen. James Mattis , the commanding general overseeing the case , who will make the final decision . If the recommendation is accepted , it could mean that no one in the Haditha case will be tried for murder . Four enlisted Marines were initially accused in the case , and charges against two have been dropped . Murder charges remain against Lance Cpl . Stephen Tatum , although Ware has recommended dropping all charges against him . Ware said the evidence is too weak for a court martial . Four officers were later accused of failing to investigate and report the deaths properly . Charges against two of them have been dropped . Haditha , along the Euphrates River , was the target of previous Marine campaigns aimed at rooting out insurgents . Wuterich was leading a patrol through the city on November 19 , 2005 , when the unit was hit by a roadside bomb that killed one of its members . Twenty-four civilians were killed in what a human rights group and military prosecutors said was a house-to-house rampage by Marines after the bomb exploded . The military began investigating the killings in March 2006 , and charges were brought the following December . A statement from the Marine Corps originally blamed the civilian deaths on the roadside bomb , triggering a parallel investigation into how commanders handled the incident . Arrest made in terrorist financing case . Earlier Thursday , the U.S. military announced the arrest of a man who smuggled $ 100 million into Iraq during the past few months to finance terrorist operations . The unidentified man , arrested Tuesday near Baghdad , allegedly employs 40 to 50 extremists at $ 3,000 per job for al Qaeda in Iraq bomb attacks against coalition forces , using money from supporters outside Iraq , the military said . `` The extremist financier is suspected of traveling to foreign countries to acquire financial support for terrorist activities and is suspected of supplying more than $ 50,000 to al Qaeda each month , '' the military said . The suspect , captured during a coalition raid in Kindi , operates a network of financing cells across Iraq , the military said . `` He is believed to have received $ 100 million this summer from terrorist supporters who cross the Iraq border illegally or fly into Iraq from Italy , Syria and Egypt , '' the military said . The $ 100 million figure is based on intelligence report estimates over several months , a spokesman for Multi-National Corps-Iraq said . The man is also accused of purchasing some of the explosives and weapons used in the 2006 attack on Samarra 's al-Askariya mosque , also known as the Golden Mosque , and a second attack on it in 2007 . The attacks heightened sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims . During a separate operation in Radwaniya on Tuesday , Iraqi forces detained a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq platoon leader who commands 15 men in attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces with roadside bombs and direct assaults , the military said . Meanwhile , an Iraqi Ministry of Information spokesman said Thursday that Iraq has entered into a `` substantial '' deal with China to purchase weapons and light military equipment for its police forces , because the Asian nation promised the fastest delivery . Brig . Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf told CNN he was unable to confirm that his country was spending $ 100 million for the items , a number reported in Thursday 's editions of The Washington Post , which quoted Iraqi President Jalal Talabani . Khalaf said there have been delivery delays from other countries , including the United States , and adequately arming police forces is a priority in Iraq 's goal to provide its own security . In the United States , there are several layers of review before military equipment sales are approved . Khalaf said the deal was made last June during a visit to China by Talabani and Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bolani , whose department is in charge of policing and border control . Other developments : . CNN 's Jamie McIntyre , Saad Abedine and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .
If advice accepted , it could mean no one in Haditha case will be tried for murder . Iraq to buy weapons from China ; $ 100 million worth , Washington Post says . Pentagon : Detainee financed terror operations across country . Financier allegedly paid $ 3,000 per roadside bomb operation .