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Fort Hood Shooting Victims Sue Government

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the third anniversary of the Fort Hood rampage, 148 victims and family members are suing the government and seeking compensation over the attack allegedly carried out by an Army psychiatrist who is awaiting trial.

The shooting at the Army base in Texas killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen others.

The lawsuit alleging negligence by the government says that the Defense Department is avoiding legal and financial responsibility for the killings by referring to the shootings as "workplace violence" rather than as a terrorist attack.

The group also is suing the estate of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born Islamic cleric who the victims say inspired the Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan, to carry out the attack. The two men exchanged emails before the shootings.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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