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Subject: 4 Americans Shot in the Back of Head After Copter Crashes in Sunni District
reefdiver    1/24/2007 5:18:12 PM
4 Americans Shot in the Back of Head After Copter Crashes in Sunni District in Iraq Wednesday, January 24, 2007 "BAGHDAD — Four of the five Americans killed when a U.S. security company's helicopter crashed in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad were shot execution-style in the back the head, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday." - At least they can thank god they were only shot dead instead of being stripped naked, and made to pose naked together as a group and then photographed...that would be torture.
 
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flamingknives       1/24/2007 6:23:17 PM
A bad business. RIP those killed.

How about not cheapening it by using it to score points on an internet discussion board?
 
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xylene       1/24/2007 6:26:44 PM
This is what Iraq Sunnis do even while the USA contemplates to send additional troops to save their rear-ends from the Shias.
 
The Iraqi Sunni have brought all this on themselves. They threw their lot in with Al Qaeda and began the insurgency against US forces, they attacked the Shia over and over again and started the sectarian conflict.
 
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EW3       1/24/2007 11:47:35 PM
Time for a massive napalm assault where this took place. 
Cookem Danno
 
 
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Zerbrechen    Napalm or...   1/25/2007 12:13:49 AM
     Or a Buff flight filled with clusters
 
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flamingknives       1/25/2007 1:00:44 PM
"The Iraqi Sunni have brought all this on themselves. They threw their lot in with Al Qaeda and began the insurgency against US forces, they attacked the Shia over and over again and started the sectarian conflict."

Wasn't that after the US invaded their country and ousted them from power? I'm not condoning their actions but I can see why they might think that the USA = bad guys.
 
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swhitebull    Not So Fast- May be Bogus Report    1/25/2007 3:47:32 PM
From LittleGreenFootballs:
 
Another False Associated Press Story from Iraq?

Yesterday LGF noted the Associated Press report on the crash of a US security contractors’ helicopter in Iraq. According to the AP, four of the five Blackwater employees killed were “shot execution style in the back of the head.”

Today I received an email from an unnamed person in Baghdad with knowledge of the incident:

Do not believe what you see in the media. Four agents and numerous BW personnel saw the remains, and there was NO INDICATION the four BW guys in the crashed helo were executed on the ground. We are awaiting the official autopsy from the States, but a visual inspection gave no indication of “shots to the back of the head”. This rumor of “shots to the back of the head” was leaked by someone in the government and was based on a false initial report.

Does this sound a little familiar?

This is a story to watch, and of course I’ll update as more information is available. But if it’s true there were no “execution style” killings, we may have another example of the AP letting themselves be used to spread enemy propaganda, intended to make things look worse than they really are in Iraq.

Was one of the sources for this report Al Jazeera?

Al-Jazeera broadcast images Wednesday recorded with a mobile telephone that purported to show smoking remains of the helicopter, and quoted an unnamed US officer as saying at least one of the victims had been shot in the head.

UPDATE at 1/25/07 10:04:57 am:

The latest AP report quotes unnamed defense and diplomatic officials:

In Washington, a U.S. defense official said four of the five killed were shot in the back of the head but did not know whether they were still alive when they were shot. The defense official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

The helicopter was shot down after responding to assist a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that came under fire in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, said a U.S. diplomatic official in Washington.

A second helicopter also was struck, but there were no casualties among its crew, said the diplomatic official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to make statements.

We have a battle of unnamed sources here, because the email I received contradicts another detail in this latest AP report. My source says that one of the casualties was in the second helicopter.

UPDATE at 1/25/07 12:26:42 pm:

Helicopter pilot Dan Laguna, Blackwater Aviation Program manager and brother of one of the fallen contractors, wrote a letter to Iraqslogger about it. He doesn’t mention any execution-style shots, and his letter seems to support that one of the casualties was in another helicopter that managed to return to safety. (Hat tip: Christina.)
 
 
swhitebull - more to come
 
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HYPOCENTER    They were mercs   1/25/2007 10:54:47 PM
The heilo that got shot down wasn't US army, it was one of Blackwaters (Blackwater is one of the many paramilitary contractors out in Iraq-- aka mercenaries). Tough break for those guys, i'm sorry to see that happen. The heilo in question was a "little-bird", a very small and quick heilo that Blackwater uses to protect their convoys. Typically, two guys hang out on either side with SAWs. They fly during the day, but they fly low and fast making them hard to hit....

Here is a video of them in action: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9142046234356623565&q=blackwater&hl=en

And here is the best article on the incident yet: http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/961/Another_Black_Day_For_Blackwater_--_Update

 
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HYPOCENTER       1/25/2007 11:05:42 PM
by the way, at least one of the guys in that video were among those who died. The man shown throwing a grenade of some sort and then turning to the camera to smile was the pilot.
 
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Claymore       1/26/2007 1:35:47 AM
they are not mercs, they don't engage in offensive actions, they are DEFENSE Contrators protecting convoy's etc.



 
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swhitebull    AP Starting to Back Away from Claim of Executions   1/26/2007 12:43:11 PM
From LGF:
 

Friday, January 26, 2007

Associated Press Backing Away from "Execution" Report

The Associated Press’s latest article on the downing of a Blackwater security contractors’ helicopter is beginning to back away from their possibly false report that four of the Americans were killed “execution style.”

Iraqi and U.S. officials said earlier that four of the five Americans who died in the downing of a U.S. security company’s helicopter in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad on Tuesday were shot in the head execution-style _ though it was unclear if they were alive when shot.

The two bodies shown in the video had no visible gunshot wounds to the head or any other visible wounds. The dark-haired man’s hair was tangled and matted but it was difficult to see from the footage if it was blood or dirt.

Another militant group, Ansar al-Sunnah Army, which also has claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter, said in a statement posted Wednesday on an Islamic Web site that its fighters “rushed toward the crash of the helicopter while under fire from a second (U.S.) helicopter and killed three U.S. soldiers.”

Here’s the backpedaling, in a statement that was not included in the first or second round of reports:

The authenticity of the two statements could not be verified.

That’s more than they ever admitted about “Jamil Hussein.”

As I wrote yesterday, another AP detail my Iraq source told me was incorrect (that all five casualties were from the helicopter that crashed), is now borne out by a news release from the US Embassy in Baghdad, stating that one of the killed Americans was in a second helicopter. (Hat tip: Gateway Pundit.)

And it makes no mention of “shots to the back of the head.”

News Release
For Immediate Release
January 24, 2007

STATEMENT BY U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ
ZALMAY KHALILZAD ON BLACKWATER HELICOPTER INCIDENT

The U.S. Embassy is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of five Blackwater security professionals who were killed Tuesday during an attack in Baghdad. These five American citizens were our colleagues and worked on behalf of the United States Government to protect American diplomats and missions in Iraq.

They were killed during an attack on a security detail in eastern Baghdad where two Embassy employees were attending a routine meeting. One individual was shot while flying in a helicopter trying to protect the building during the attack. The other four were in a second helicopter which crashed under heavy gunfire. Two other individuals were wounded in the attack. They were treated for their injuries and released on Tuesday. They represent the best of America, showing valor and courage in the work they did each day.

The United States condemns this attack. We vow to find those who committed these acts of murder and bring them to justice.

On behalf of the U.S. Embassy and the entire American community in Iraq, we hope for the speedy recovery of the injured and our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to the families and loved ones of those who were killed.

As soon as official autopsy reports are released, I’ll post the truth about what happened to these brave Americans, whether or not it supports the Associated Press’s contentions.

And at some point, the mainstream media will be forced to look at how they are being used to advance these kinds of negative, exaggerated, and fabricated stories.
 
 
swhitebull
 
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