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The War
Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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Iraq: Shooting Down of U.S. Apache Helicopter in the
Al-Taji Region - February 2nd, 2007 |
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Background “The U.S. command has
ordered changes in flight operations after four helicopters were shot down in
the last two weeks, the chief military spokesman said Sunday, acknowledging
for the first time that the aircraft were lost to hostile fire. The crashes,
which began Jan. 20, follow insurgent claims that they have received new
stocks of anti-aircraft weapons - and a recent boast by Sunni militants that
'God has granted new ways' to threaten U.S. aircraft. Al-Jazeera aired video
late Sunday showing one of the U.S. helicopters being hit in central Iraq and
said it came from an insurgent Web site. […] Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told
reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one
private helicopters were incomplete […]” Excerpt of an Associated
Press article from
February 5th, 2007 |
Iraqi Insurgents prepare the attack |
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The Video |
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External view: link file format: .rmvb |
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Aftermath Scenes from other Helicopter Attacks in Iraq |
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Zarqa - January 2007 |
Mosul - January 2006 |
Falluja - November 2003 |
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Photo & Video Credits The Video 1) On February 4, 2007, Islamist websites posted a 3.5-minute video titled
“American Apache Downed in Al-Anbar District Northwest of Baghdad, in the
Al-Taji region.” The video was produced by Al-Furqan, the media company of
the Islamic State of Iraq, and is part of a series called “The Hell of the
Byzantines [i.e. Christians] and Apostates in Iraq.” The video opens with a Koranic verse: “Fight them, Allah will punish
them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them
and heal the hearts of a believing people [Koran 9:14].” This is followed by
a caption saying “Sighting and Ambushing the Target.” The footage shows two
helicopters flying above, and three fighters - shown only for a few seconds -
preparing the attack. One seems to be sighting the target, the second buries
something in the ground and a third manipulates a weapon that is set on the
ground and has been blacked out by the video producers (something not seen in
previous films). The camera then follows the target helicopter, while the
voice of Osama bin Laden is heard in the background, followed by a jihad
song. The next part of the film is introduced by a caption saying “The
Battle with the Helicopters Begins.” Intensive gunfire is heard, accompanied
by cries of “Allah Akbar,” and a rocket is fired. The footage follows the
Apache until several seconds before it falls. The video next presents an
excerpt from a February 2, 2007 speech by Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi, head of the
Islamic State of Iraq, which was posted as an audio recording on Islamist
websites on February 3, 2007. The video ends with a caption saying “This
helicopter was downed on Friday, Muharram 14, 1428 [February 2, 2007].” -
February 5th, 2007 - Article by the The Middle East Research
Institute - external link; Aftermath Scenes from other
Helicopter Attacks in Iraq 1) Smoke rises from
the site where a US helicopter allegedly crashed near the town of Zarqa,
north of the central Iraqi city of Najaf.
- January 28th, 2007 - Qassem Zein/Agence France Press; 2) A crane removes
the wreckage of U.S. helicopter after it crashed in Mosul. Fighters shot down
a U.S. military helicopter near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing two
American pilots. According to witnesses, a group of armed men opened fire on
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, a two-seat, single-engine helicopter, in al-Sukar
district north of Mosul, about 240 miles north of Baghdad. - January 13th,
2006 - Reuters; 3) U.S. soldiers
carry a stretcher to the scene after a U.S. Chinook helicopter, right,
believed to be carrying dozens of soldiers to leaves abroad was struck by a
missile and crashed west of Baghdad, near Fallujah on Sunday, killing 15
soldiers and wounding 26 others, the U.S. command and witnesses reported. -
November 2nd, 2003 - Reuters; |
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