8 Apr 2010

US military 'cannot find Iraq tape'

The US military has said it cannot find its copy of a video showing two helicopters involved in a deadly attack in Baghdad in 2007.

The classified video footage filmed from a helicopter gunsight was released on Monday by Wikileaks, a group that publishes anonymously sourced documents on the internet, and has led to renewed questions about the attack. US military lawyers are also reviewing the video and, depending on their findings, could reopen an investigation into the incident, Pentagon officials told the Reuters news agency.

The leaked footage that has been widely watched online around the world is the latest twist in a three-year saga that has raised questions about the US rules of engagement in battle and the safety of journalists covering wars. Two Reuters journalists were among the 12 people killed in the July 12, 2007 attack.

Captain Jack Hanzlik, a spokesman for US Central Command, said on Tuesday that the military has not been able to locate the video within its files after being asked to authenticate the version published by Wikileaks.

"We had no reason to hold the video at [Central Command], nor did the higher headquarters in Iraq," he said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press.

"We're attempting to retrieve the video from the unit who did the investigation."

Al Jazeera - Blog: WikiLeaks vs the Pentagon

WikiLeaks Collateral Murder website