The White House has said it will make public all details relating to the alleged killings of Iraqi civilians by US troops in Haditha last year once two military investigations are completed.
A White House spokesman said that the US President, George W Bush, was concerned by the allegations but was allowing the military chain of command to complete its inquiries.
The alleged atrocity happened on 19 November after a group of marines were attacked by a roadside bomb in Haditha, northwest of Baghdad.
Residents in Haditha claim that US marines attacked the town following the bombing, leaving 24 Iraqis dead.
It is claimed five Iraqis were killed fleeing in a taxi and 19 men, women and children were killed inside or around four homes as members of the US Marines' Kilo Company moved through the town.
The New York Times, citing a senior military official in Iraq, said the investigation into the killings had uncovered death certificates showing the Iraqis were shot in the head and chest.
Details of cash payments totalling $38,000 made to victims of the families have also been published.
In an interview with the newspaper, Major Dana Hyatt said he was ordered to compensate the relatives of 15 Haditha victims.
But the military had determined that the other dead civilians had committed hostile acts, leaving their families ineligible for compensation. The US military sometimes pays compensation to relatives of civilian victims.
Meanwhile in an interview with CNN, the new Iraqi ambassador to the US, Samir al-Sumaidaie, said there appeared to have been other killings of civilians by marines in Haditha, where some of his family lives.
The ambassador said marines shot and killed his cousin during a house-to-house search several months before the Hadithat incident.
Mr Sumaidaie said three other unarmed youths were shot dead by marines in a later incident in the same area.
British envoy defends coalition forces in Iraq
The British human rights envoy to Iraq has said the alleged killing of civilians by US troops should not be allowed to overshadow the good work carried out by most coalition troops.
Ann Clwyd said the deaths were of great concern but she said most service personnel had done a good job by and large.
