A senior U.S. military official has confirmed that a seventeen-minute video posted today on Wikileaks.org — which shows U.S. troops firing repeatedly from a helicopter at a group walking down a Baghdad street — is authentic. The attack, which took place in July of 2007, ultimately killed twelve, a group which included a Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40, according to the Times.
The conversation between the two troops in the helicopter is captured on film, including an exchange in which one pilot says “Look at those dead bastards,” to which the other responds “Nice.” The pilots believe the group to be insurgents (mistaking Noor-Eldeen’s camera for a weapon) and aim and fire, “reveling in their kills,” as the Times puts it.
U.S. military officials have reportedly investigated the incident and concluded the troops were not aware there were Reuters employees among the group, and there was no disciplinary action taken.
Video Shows American Killing of Photographer [NYT]
Video showing men gunned down in Iraq is real: US military [AP via NYP]
