Video Claims to Show Pilot Being Dragged

[Hannibal]

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- A video posted on the Internet Wednesday in the name of an extremist group claimed to show Iraqi insurgents dragging the burning body of a U.S. pilot on the ground after the crash of an Apache helicopter.

Parts of the video were blurry, and the face of the man being dragged was not shown. His clothes were so tattered it was impossible to tell if he was wearing an American military uniform.

The U.S. military condemned the posting and said that although reports of a Web site video "suggest that terrorists removed part of a body from the crash site, the authenticity of the video cannot be confirmed."

"We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington said.




The video, posted by a group calling itself the Shura Council of Mujahedeen, claimed that its military wing had shot down the craft, which the U.S. military said went down Saturday.

According to statements on Islamist Web sites, the Mujahedeen Shura Council was organized in January to consolidate al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups. The move was seen as an effort by Iraqi insurgents to lower the profile of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, whose mass attacks against Shiite civilians have tarnished the image of the insurgents among many Iraqis.

The footage in the video, which also was e-mailed to reporters, was blurry but the helicopter could be seen clearly. However, it was not possible to see if it had U.S. markings.

The video also clearly showed the bloody, burning body of a man being dragged through a field. The extremist group, in audio attached to the video, said he was a U.S. helicopter pilot.

In its statement, the U.S. military said it confirmed that the two pilots in the downed helicopter had died, and it had recovered "all available remains found on the scene, given the catastrophic nature of the crash."

The AH-64D Apache Longbow crashed due to possible hostile fire west of Yousifiyah while conducting a combat air patrol, the military said.

Source

[cato2]

I believe this is the chopper that they are talking about. It went down on the 2nd.

US helicopter shot down in Iraq

A US helicopter has crashed in Iraq, after coming under small arms fire, the US military has said.
Two helicopters were conducting operations near Baquba, 60km (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

Both were hit; one crashed and the other managed to land safely at a nearby airbase. Two soldiers died in the crash, the US military said.

The American military has secured the scene of the crash, US Central Command said in a statement.

The Pentagon said that it was an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter, a one-engined two-seater craft, which had been shot down.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4585169.stm

[Hannibal]

MOAB the bastards..

[hughesjw]

Originally Posted by Hannibal

"We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington said.

What he said!

[marcus.mccoy]

Nuke em