Video description: Wikileaks has obtained and decrypted this previously unreleased video footage from a US Apache
helicopter in 2007. It shows Reuters journalist Namir Noor-Eldeen, driver Saeed Chmagh, and several others as the Apache
shoots and kills them in a public square in Eastern Baghdad. They are apparently assumed to be insurgents. After the
initial shooting, an unarmed group of adults and children in a minivan arrives on the scene and attempts to transport
the wounded. They are fired upon as well. The official statement on this incident initially listed all adults as
insurgents and claimed the US military did not know how the deaths ocurred. Wikileaks released this video with
transcripts and a package of supporting documents on April 5th 2010 on http://collateralmurder.com
Collateral Murder
Overview
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of
over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of
the attack. 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.
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.
ENDS