Apache helicopter firing its 30-mm gun on civilians in Iraq
On July 12, 2007 an air strike from an Apache helicopter killing ten men including two Reuters journalists. In the first strike “Crazyhorse 1/8“ directed 30 mm calibre cannon fire at a group of ten men alleged by the US Army to be Iraqi insurgents.
Two of the victims turned out to be Reuters news staff; Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen, whose cameras were mistaken for weapons. Nine men were killed, including Noor-Eldeen. Chmagh was initially wounded by “Crazyhorse 1/9 [Kyle].“
The second airstrike using 30 mm fire was directed at a van returning to the scene and attempting to evacuate Chmagh and possibly other survivors. Two children inside the van were wounded, and three more men were killed, including Chmagh
In the third airstrike, the “Bush“ helicopter team deployed three AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, which destroyed a building, after having seen men, some possibly armed and some unarmed, enter the building. An undisclosed number of civilians were kil