Iraq militants show 'crash video'
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 11:58PM
TheSpook
An Iraqi insurgent group says it shot down a commercial helicopter that crashed near Baghdad on Thursday - and that it shot dead the only survivor. The Islamic Army posted a video on the internet purporting to show the wreckage, and the shooting. Eleven people died in the crash - six US security contractors, three Bulgarian crew and two Fijian guards. A statement said the survivor was shot in revenge for "the murder of Muslims in the mosques of Falluja". US and Bulgarian officials have confirmed the helicopter was lost about 20km (12 miles) north of the Iraqi capital on Thursday. The cameraman focuses on two bodies. One appears to be dead and is badly charred. The second person, wearing a blue flight suit, is alive but badly hurt. The cameraman orders him to stand up, but the survivor says he has a broken leg and asks for help. The militants appear to help him up, and tell him to run away. Then they shoot him at point blank range and he collapses. They continue to shoot the body, shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great). A statement on the internet accompanying the video read: "The Islamic Army in Iraq claims responsibility for bringing down a... cargo aircraft and killing all those on board." It said the killing was revenge for the murder of Muslims in Falluja - an apparent reference to a video showing a US soldier shooting dead a wounded Iraqi in a mosque in November. [more]
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