Collateral murder
| July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of the post-invasion Iraq War | |
| Location | New Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Date | July 12, 2007 |
|
Attack type
|
Airstrike |
| Deaths | Press reports of the number killed vary from 12 to "over 18". 2 journalists were killed, and 2 children were wounded. |
| Perpetrators | United States Army |
The July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikes were a series of air-to-ground attacks conducted by a team of two US AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad during the Iraqi insurgency which followed the Iraq War. The attacks received worldwide coverage following the leaking of 39 minutes of classified gunsight footage in 2010, provoking ongoing global discussion on the legality and morality of the attacks.
In the first strike, the crews of two Apaches directed 30mm cannon fire at a group of ten Iraqi men standing at a position which insurgents had previously used to shoot at an American Humvee with small arms fire. Among the group were two Iraqi war correspondents working for Reuters, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Namir accomplished his objective with three photos of the Humvee which included the large dirt pile used as cover by insurgents to attack the Humvee earlier that morning. Seven men (including Noor-Eldeen) were killed during this first strike, and Saeed Chmagh was injured.
The second strike, also using 30mm rounds, was directed at a van whose driver, Saleh Matasher Tomal, appeared to happen to drive by and who proceeded to help the wounded Chmagh. However, in the long version of the video this van was targeted prior to the first engagement by one Apache (Crazyhorse 1/8) as it traveled south toward the Reuters employees who were, simultaneously, targeted by the other Apache (Crazyhorse 1/9) as they walked north on the same road toward the van. Minutes after the first engagement ended the van returned traveling in an opposite direction (north) once again on this same road.
Two men assisting in the rescue effort were from a group of five standing at an intersection - seen in the upper right corner of the video when the Reuters employees arrive in the courtyard - reported to Apaches as being a second position combatants were using to attack the Humvee. Both of these men, Chmagh and Tomal, were killed in the second strike, and two of Tomal's children were badly wounded.
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