Gunmen shouting "God is Great" dragged what appeared to be the burning body of a US pilot in a horrific video posted on Wednesday on the Web by a new al-Qaeda-affiliated group that claimed it shot down an Apache helicopter last weekend.
The US military expressed outrage over the release of "such a despicable video for public exposure," but said it could not confirm the authenticity. The date stamp on the video was Sunday, April 2, a day after the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter was downed southwest of Baghdad, killing the two pilots.
Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the US command, said the wreckage shown on the video "does appear to be an AH-64," but added that other helicopters of that type have been lost.
"We have serious doubts about the authenticity of this video, a common tactic we see terrorist groups use to keep the stories they want alive in the media," he said.
A US statement said troops had recovered "all available remains" although "reports of a Web site video suggest that terrorists removed part of a body from the crash site," near Youssifiyah, about 20km southwest of Baghdad.
"We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure," Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Withington, a US spokesman, said. "Terrorists continue to demonstrate their immoral disregard for human dignity and life."
Although the images were blurry, the flaming wreckage of a helicopter could be seen clearly, including outlines of the aircraft's blades and jagged pieces of wreckage strewn over a field.
The camera panned over bloodstained wreckage, then showed several men dragging the burning body of a man across a field as they shouted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great" in celebration. Voices could be heard in the background shouting "come, come, help me carry it."
The body's face was not visible, but the camera zoomed in on what appeared to be his waistline, which showed a scrap of underwear with the brand name "Hanes" on it.
It appeared the man was wearing tattered digital camouflage fatigues, which are worn by US troops in Iraq.
In Alexandria, Virginia, Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a defense contractor which monitors militant statements, said it appeared on first viewing that the tape was authentic.
He also said the discrepancy on the times could be simply a technical error in the setting.
"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," he said. "On an initial review, it does appear to be what it purports to be."
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
RSS