Photo Gallery Fire in the Sky
The Iraq war logs reveal a number of dubious attacks by Apache helicopters and raise the question of whether US pilots committed war crimes. This photo shows an Apache helicopter flying over the Rasheed neighborhood of Baghdad on Feb. 22, 2007. On the same day, a serious incident involving an Apache took place in Baghdad, according to the Iraq war logs. The crew shot and killed two Iraqis who were clearly trying to surrender.
This image is taken from the world-famous "Collateral Murder" video published by WikiLeaks in April 2010. The footage of the July 12, 2007 incident shows how the crew of an Apache helicopter opened fire on innocent civilians, killing 13 Iraqis, including two Reuters employees.
The supposed "anti-Iraqi forces" who were killed were probably Iraqis who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The video also shows how the crews asked for permission to open fire on a minibus rushing to the scene -- and how they obtained it.
The roughly 18-minute video is difficult to watch, partly because it isn't clear what's worse: the images or the recorded conversations of the helicopter crew. "Nice," says one crew member after a deadly salvo. "Look at those dead bastards." The conversation continues in a similar tone.
The black Apache helicopters are heavily armed, cost about $20 million each and can fly at speeds of around 300 kilometers per hour (190 mph). They are also equipped with 30 mm cannons and Hellfire missiles.
Ground troops who get caught up in firefights often call in the helicopters for support. Whenever the Apaches appeared in the sky over Baghdad, it wasn't uncommon for hell to break loose on the ground.
In 2007, the Baghdad battalions of the Fort Hood, Texas-based unit were stationed in Camp Taji to the north of the Iraqi capital. For a total period of 15 months between the end of 2006 and early 2008, the soldiers flew missions from the base. Many of those operations involved particularly "robust" interventions, to use the military jargon.
This April 2010 photo shows the father of Namir Noor-Eldeen, the 22-year-old Reuters photographer who died in the incident.
This is believed to be the last picture taken on Namir Noor-Eldeen's cameras while he was still alive. US soldiers retrieved his two digital cameras from the scene of the attack and later returned them to Reuters.
