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16 January 2004




Apache killing video becomes viral news

Posted: 14 January 2004 By: Jemima Kiss

Email: jemima@journalism.co.uk

A graphic US military video showing the killing of three Iraqi people is being circulated via the web after appearing on US TV news channel ABC News.

The one-minute file, filmed from a US Apache helicopter, shows three suspected Iraqi insurgents being shot with 30mm cannon fire. The clip was cut from a longer video obtained by ABC News last week and verified by a senior US army official.

The MPEG format file has been posted to several right-wing US forums, where the effectiveness of the Apache's firepower has been celebrated.

So far though, in spite of its graphic nature, the film does not seem to have attracted much attention from the anti-war movement.

Tony Sleep, a freelance photographer in the UK, was one recipient of the file. He was emailed a link to a US academic site that temporarily hosted the MPEG file.

"It's very uncomfortable to watch because it's so calculated," he told dotJournalism. "It's quite pornographic actually."

Video download (WARNING: some viewers may find this material disturbing):

http://www.journalism.co.uk/imagesn/apache.mpeg

See also:

http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/apache_video_040109.htm