U.S. Eyes Chopper Crash Execution
Insurgents Post Video Of Crash, Killing; Blackwater IDs Dead
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Play CBS Video Video Groups Vie For Copter Claim It appears to have been the first civilian copter shot down in Iraq in two years, and competing insurgent groups are broadcasting videos to claim responsibility, Lee Cowan reports.
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Video 11 Dead In Iraq Copter Crash It was a deadly day in Iraq for civilian contractors. Six American workers were killed in a helicopter missile attack near Baghdad. Two others died on the road to the airport, Lee Cowan reports.
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Video Insurgent Attacks Surge After a calm month, insurgent attacks in Iraq are surging, David Martin reports. Several attacks from the past few days appear to show stronger coordination, which is troubling to the new government.
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The helicopter went down about 12 miles north of Baghdad. (AP /APTN)
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"We treat people humanely, but they don't," said Mitchell, a retired army colonel. "So they have gone out and taken an injured pilot or crewmember and killed him in cold blood. That's just wrong by anybody's standards."
The six Americans were employed by Blackwater Security Consulting — a subsidiary of North Carolina-based security contractor Blackwater USA, which had four employees slain and mutilated by insurgents in Fallujah a year ago.
The Islamic Army statement said it killed the survivor "in revenge for the Muslims who have been killed in cold blood in the mosques of tireless Fallujah before the eyes of the world and on television screens, without anyone condemning them." It was apparently referring to the shooting by an American soldier of a wounded Iraqi in a Fallujah mosque on Nov. 13 during a U.S. offensive in the city.
The Americans were helping the Bureau of Diplomatic Security protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
"They played a critical role in our effort to bring a better way of life to the people of a country who have not experienced freedom and opportunity for many years," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.
The aircraft was owned by Heli Air of Bulgaria and chartered by Toronto-based SkyLink Aviation Inc., according to SkyLink air operations manager Paul Greenaway.
It was flying to Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone, home to Iraq's parliament and many diplomats.
Blackwater said another one of its guards was killed and four injured Thursday when an explosive device was detonated next to one of its armored personnel carrier near Ramadi. No further details were released.
©MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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