'I was on the wrong side, but I switched sides' Fort Hood shooting trial begins

The Army psychiatrist accused of the deadliest mass shooting ever on a US military installation told jurors that evidence would "clearly show" he was the gunman during the attack on Fort Hood.

ITV News Diplomatic Correspondent John Ray reports:

Major Nidal Malik Hasan briefly laid out his defence as he addressed jurors during the first day of the long-delayed trial for the attack that killed 13 people on the Texas Army post in 2009.

Acting as his own attorney, Hasan also cited his religion but did not elaborate.

Hasan, 42, who carried out the shooting on 5th November 2009, just days before he was to be deployed to Afghanistan, has said he shot the soldiers to try to stop what he has called a US war on Islam. Thirty-two people were wounded in the attack and some of them are expected to testify and be cross-examined by Hasan.

Hasan could be sentenced to death if convicted. The military judge for the court-martial, Colonel Tara Osborn, has rejected Hasan's offer to plead guilty in return for being spared the death penalty.