Leaked video shows killing of journalist in Iraq
Top news: A video released yesterday by the anti-censorship website Wikileaks show a 2007 helicopter attack in Baghdad which killed 12 people, including a Reuters photographer and his driver.
The gunsight video shows the helicopters opening fire on a group of people standing on a Baghdad street corner after mistaking photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen's camera for a weapon. When a van arrives to pick up the wounded, the pilots open fire on it, wounding two children. "Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle,” one of the pilots can be heard saying.
The video was reportedly shown to Reuters editors at an off-the-record briefing in 2007.
The news agency has been trying to obtain copies since then through a Freedom of Information Act request. Wikileaks claims to have decrypted the video after obtaining it from whistleblowers within the U.S. military. Julian Assange, as spokesman for the group, says the attack was clearly not justified and described the pilots as acting "like they are playing a computer game."
A U.S. military official has confirmed the authenticity of the video. The Defense Department says the pilots were unaware of the presence of journalists and thought they were under threat from insurgents. "We regret the loss of innocent life, but this incident was promptly investigated and there was never any attempt to cover up any aspect of this engagement," said CentCom spokesman Shawn Kemp.
Reuters editor-in-chief David Schlesinger described the video as "tragic and emblematic of the extreme dangers that exist in covering war zones."
Nukes: The Obama Administration is due to release its long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review today.
The gunsight video shows the helicopters opening fire on a group of people standing on a Baghdad street corner after mistaking photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen's camera for a weapon. When a van arrives to pick up the wounded, the pilots open fire on it, wounding two children. "Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle,” one of the pilots can be heard saying.
The video was reportedly shown to Reuters editors at an off-the-record briefing in 2007.
The news agency has been trying to obtain copies since then through a Freedom of Information Act request. Wikileaks claims to have decrypted the video after obtaining it from whistleblowers within the U.S. military. Julian Assange, as spokesman for the group, says the attack was clearly not justified and described the pilots as acting "like they are playing a computer game."
A U.S. military official has confirmed the authenticity of the video. The Defense Department says the pilots were unaware of the presence of journalists and thought they were under threat from insurgents. "We regret the loss of innocent life, but this incident was promptly investigated and there was never any attempt to cover up any aspect of this engagement," said CentCom spokesman Shawn Kemp.
Reuters editor-in-chief David Schlesinger described the video as "tragic and emblematic of the extreme dangers that exist in covering war zones."
Nukes: The Obama Administration is due to release its long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review today.
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-By Joshua Keating |  |
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