 Of significance, by the time the NCIS investigation was concluded, the second assault and seizure of Fallujah had already occurred in November 2004.This now presented an opportunity to return to the scene of the incident, gather any additional evidence and locate additional Iraqi witnesses; as well as exhume the corpses for forensic examination.This was an opportunity NCIS had not been able to execute freely as the area had been under insurgent control during their inquiry.