Baghdad, Iraq – A video posted Wednesday on the Internet in the name of an extremist group claimed to show Iraqi insurgents dragging the burning body of a U.S. pilot on the ground after the crash of an Apache helicopter.
Parts of the video were blurry, and the face of the man was not shown. His clothes were so tattered it was impossible to tell if he was wearing an American military uniform, but he appeared to be wearing military fatigues.
The U.S. military condemned the posting and said that although reports of a website video “suggest that terrorists removed part of a body from the crash site, the authenticity of the video cannot be confirmed.”
The U.S. military said an AH-64D Apache Longbow crashed about 5:30 p.m. Saturday because of possible hostile fire west of Youssifiyah, about 10 miles southwest of Baghdad, while conducting a combat air patrol.
The time and date stamp on the video was Sunday, April 2, and runs from 4:03 to 4:08 p.m., although the militant group, the Shura Council of Mujahedeen, said its military wing shot down the aircraft Saturday.
The stamp shows the minutes and seconds do not run sequentially and the scenes appear disjointed, suggesting the tape was altered.
But an expert on evaluating such tapes said that, “On an initial review, it does appear to be what it purports to be.”
“Based on an initial review of the footage, it would seem to indicate the downing of a helicopter and the removal of crew and passengers from the craft,” said Ben Venzke, a military contractor who assesses statements and videos from militant groups.
He said he did not consider the wrong time and date stamp “a strong indicator of lack of credibility,” adding that the operator may have simply set it wrong.
“We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure,” U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington said.
On Sunday, the military said that the pilots were “presumed dead” and that recovery efforts were underway, indicating they had not fully secured the site or retrieved the bodies.
The military later identified the pilots as Capt. Timothy J. Moshier of Albany, N.Y., and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael L. Hartwick of Orrick, Mo.
According to statements on Islamist websites, the Mujahedeen Shura Council was organized in January to consolidate al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups.
The video was blurry, but the burning helicopter could be seen clearly.
It was not possible to see if it had U.S. markings.
