Leaked video shows cold-blooded killing of Reuters staff by Apache gunship

By Leonard Doyle

With dramatic gunsight video footage, the WikiLeaks investigative journalism organization today directly challenged the US version of a deadly tragedy that took the lives of two Reuters staffers in Baghdad in 2007.

The classified video footage shows a US Apache air crew lying about encountering insurgents in central Baghdad. They joke about their victims as they release fusillades of deadly cannon fire: "sweet" "look at that bitch go" "nice missile."
The attack killed Namir Noor-Eldeen, an acclaimed 22-year-old war photographer and his driver Saeed Chmagh, 40.

One of the Apache crew says he sees six people carrying AK-47s and another with a rocket propelled grenade. The photographer Noor-Eldeen is clearly visible with a camera over his shoulder. His colleague Chmagh is speaking on his mobile phone. It later emerged that he was speaking with a colleague from AFP news agency.

One of the aircrew is heard to say that a member of the group is firing, although the video shows no such activity. In fact the men are wandering nonchalantly around the street.

After one of the two helicopters, nicknamed Crazyhorse, opens fire a crew member exclaims: "Ha ha ha. I hit 'em." A short while another says: "Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards."

The video depicts prolonged aerial surveillance followed by two deadly bursts of 30mm cannon fire. There is a disturbing callousness to the banter as the gunner, pilot and distant commander urge each other on claiming that they are attacking insurgents.

The disturbing footage shows the two Reuters staffers walking around, knowing that the helicopters are overhead. Moments later all hell is unleashed upon them.

Having shot up a group of men, including Noor-Eldeen, the Apache camera returns to show a man, believed to be Chmagh struggle to his feet as a passing van stops to deliver aid.

The Apache crew needs a pretext to open fire and a crew member wishes aloud for Chmagh to reach for a gun so that he can fire: "All you gotta do is pick up a weapon."

When a van pulls up and two men emerge and start to carry the wounded man away an order is given to open fire on the van. The results are tragic for a father of four and two of his children he was bringing to a tutor. A helicopter fires 30mm shells at the van: "Look at that. Right through the windshield," says one as another guffaws.

(The two children were badly wounded and when Wikileaks reporters visited them last week they discovered that their widowed mother is living in poverty having never been paid compensation by the US military for the wrongful death of their father.)

Once ground forces arrive - and drive over Noor-Eldeen's body - provoking more laughs - the wounded children are discovered. The air crew blames the Iraqis. "Well it's their fault for bringing kids in to a battle," says one. "That's right," responds another.

Wikileaks' Assange said yesterday that the video revealed that the military claims that all the dead were insurgents were soon proved false, as was the claim that the helicopters were responding to a firefight.

"Why would anyone be so relaxed with two Apaches (flying overhead) if someone was carrying an RPG and that person was an enemy of the United States?" he said. "The behaviour of the pilots is like a computer game. When Saeed is crawling, clearly unable to do anything, their response is: come on buddy, we want to kill you, just pick up a weapon ... It appears to be a desire to get a higher score, or a higher number of kills.

In a second video clip, shot some 20 minutes later the same helicopter is seen shooting hellfire missiles into a building because the crew believed an insurgent with a weapon had entered it. In the deadly onslaught at least two families are killed.

Reuters editors were shown exerpts from the video in an off the record briefing shortly after the killings on 12 July 2007. The news agency is reported to have filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the video, which has been rebuffed.
Assange claimed yesterday that his organization has come under "an aggressive US and Icelandic surveillance operation" prior to today's release. The organization has a record for revealing damaging secrets of US military operations and documents show that the Pentagon planned to attack it with a hacking operation.
Wikileaks is a non-profit supported entity that offers those with
undisclosed documents and records a safe space for their anonymous
dissemination. The organization spent over $30,000 verifying the video and editing the footage. The full unedited video was also released.

Wikileaks also partnered with the Icelandic State broadcaster to send two journalists to Baghdad to interview survivors including two young children who still bear scars from the attack. In the dramatic video footage, the Apache crew see a group of men strolling around casually. They seem aware that there are helicopters above them.
Wikileaks has also obtained video of a 2009 air strike in Afghanistan that killed as many as 1000 civilians which is being prepared for release.

The video is available on YouTube, in short and long versions.

Hat tip CJR which was first out of the traps with a constantly updated report

- Video and resources now viewable at http://collateralmurder.com/
- Download, various formats: http://collateralmurder.com/en/download.html
- English transcript: http://collateralmurder.com/en/transcript.html
- Rules of Engagement and other resources etc.
http://collateralmurder.com/en/resources.html

- Wikileaks short description: "The video, shot from an Apache
helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded
Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the
rescue were also seriously wounded."

- NYTimes article on original Baghdad attack in July 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html

- Reuters articles on the request for investigation
From 2007: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL0539996520080711
From 2008: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL05399965

- Wikileaks description:

The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and
stated that they did not know how the children were injured.

After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S.
military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance
with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".

Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of
Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before,
during, and after the killings.

WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a
shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to
both versions from the radio transmissions.

WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a
number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to
verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have
analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source
material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly
involved in the incident.

WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives
gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the
people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs:
putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very
dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were
killed while doing their work.

The Lies of the Pentagon

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