WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD — A military jury today convicted Army Spc. Christopher Shore of aggravated assault in the killing of an Iraqi man last year.

A nine-member jury found Shore, of Winder, Ga., not guilty of third-degree murder in the June 23 killing but guilty of the lesser offense. Aggravated assault carries a maximum eight years in prison, a dishonorable discharge and a drop to the Army's lowest pay grade.

Col. Donna Wright presided over the court-martial at Wheeler Army Airfield, where Shore is based. She set sentencing for later today.

The soldier had blamed the killing on his platoon leader, Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales of San Antonio, who is to go on trial on a premeditated murder charge on April 22.

Shore says he shot at but intentionally missed the victim when ordered by Corrales to finish him off outside a house near Kirkuk.

Shore, who declined comment when asked by reporters after verdict, hugged friends and family outside the hearing room but had no visible reaction inside.

A prosecutor in the case told the jury in his closing remarks that Shore could have avoided firing his gun by walking away from the scene, as other members of his platoon did.

Capt. James Leary said duress is not a defense for murder, pointing to witness testimony that the victim was talking and moving before Shore fired his weapon.

"Everyone else wants to be back inside. They didn't want to be part of it," Leary said in closing arguments.

Although Shore may not have wanted to hurt the victim, Leary said, the decision to fire two shots at him was itself illegal.

Shore's lawyer, Mike Waddington, did not call the defendant to the stand. He argued that the prosecutor had provided no physical or forensic evidence linking Shore to the killing. No guns, bullets or other items were entered into evidence, and the Iraqi has not been identified by U.S. authorities.

Waddington called the investigation "sloppy," saying investigators initially went to the wrong house and excavated the wrong yard.

"Why would a young soldier stand there?" he asked jurors. "Perhaps terror. He wouldn't have shot but for fear."

Shore said he fired after Corrales ordered him to kill the man whose hands had tested positive for touching explosives.

Shore's third-degree murder case today was heard by a jury of nine officers and enlisted personnel.

Before his closing arguments, Waddington read testimony submitted by Essa Ahmed, a translator with Shore's unit during the raid. He used Ahmed's testimony to argue that Shore acted under pressure and had reason to fear Corrales would attack him if he did not follow orders.

Ahmed said the victim was alive and talking after Shore fired two rounds and that the man was also afraid Corrales would shoot him.

"Help me, by Christ's sake," Ahmed quoted the victim as saying. He said the man also declared before dying, "I am a Christian, too."