The US military is reviewing a video posted on the Internet of a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff, and could reopen an investigation into the incident, a military official said Wednesday. A preliminary review of the classified video, which was made public on Monday by a group that promotes leaking to fight government and corporate corruption, is being conducted by lawyers at the US military's Central Command, the military official said on condition of anonymity. Central Command oversees the war in Iraq. “We're looking at a reinvestigation because of a question of the rules of engagement. Were all the actions that are depicted on that video in parallel with the rules of engagement in effect at the time?” the military official said. The lawyers would then make recommendations to military commanders, which could lead to the reopening of the investigation, the official said. “We're trying to figure out if that is warranted,” the official said of a possible reinvestigation, adding that it was unclear whether a new probe could be led by Central Command or the Army. “It certainly is possible.” The stark helicopter gunsight video of the July 12, 2007, attack has been widely viewed around the world on the Internet since its release by the group WikiLeaks. The video includes an audio track of conversation between the helicopter crew and many who have seen it have been shocked at the images and at some of the fliers' comments. WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange said Monday the fliers act “like they are playing a computer game and their desire is they want to get high scores” by killing opponents. The two Reuters staff killed in the attack were photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40. David Schlesinger, Reuters' editor-in-chief, said on Wednesday, “I would welcome a thorough new investigation. Reuters from the start has called for transparency and an objective inquiry so that all can learn lessons from this tragedy.” The video shows an aerial view of a group of men moving about a square in a Baghdad neighborhood. The fliers identified some of the men as armed.
