A video published on the Web site WikiLeaks shows graphic images of about a dozen people being gunned down by a U.S. helicopter gunship in Iraq in 2007. The footage, which was leaked by a confidential source, shows that among the victims were two respected Iraqi journalists, Reuters photographer Saeed Cmagh and his colleague, Namir Noor-Eldeen.
The footage is shown from the vantage point of an Apache gunship as it circled around a cluster of buildings and a large, open courtyard, where several men appeared to be casually strolling about.
Transcribed communications between the soldiers on the Apache gunship and their commanding officers shows they were eager to engage what they thought was a hostile enemy. Audio is included with the video, but it does not provide any context of the scene before the men are shown walking about the open courtyard.
After getting permission to engage the men on the ground, the soldiers opened fire on them with a 30 mm machine gun. Reuters photographer Saeed Cmagh, who survived the initial barrage of machine gun fire, is seen trying to crawl to safety before a van arrives on the scene to pick him up. A second round of gunfire killed Saeed and others, and disabled the van.
The shooting occurred in the New Baghdad district of the Iraqi capital, and approximately 12 to 15 Iraqis were killed in the attack.
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WikiLeaks anonymously publishes submitted documents, video, and other sensitive materials.
According to CNN, an investigation by U.S. officials found that the helicopter’s gunship crew mistakenly thought that the journalist’s cameras were weapons. The crew was searching for insurgents who had been firing on U.S. troops in the area.
“This tragic incident was investigated at that time by the brigade involved and the investigation found that the forces involved were not aware of the presence of the two reporters, and that all evidence available supported the conclusion by those forces that they were engaging armed insurgents, and not civilians,” Maj. Shawn Turner, a U.S. military spokesman, told CNN in a written statement Monday.
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