-Cp
02-06-2007, 02:11 PM
A video of the alleged friendly fire death of a British soldier in Iraq surfaced early Tuesday, despite the Pentagon's refusal to release the classified evidence.
The tape, which was obtained by Britain's The Sun newspaper, reportedly captures the voices of two American pilots immediately after they mistakenly opened fire on British military convoy near Basra, Iraq, on March 28, 2003.
"God damn it," one of the pilots shouts.
"We're in jail, dude," another responds.
Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, 25, died of injuries sustained as the American A-10 "tankbuster" aircraft pumped 500-rounds per second into Hull's unit.
A British investigation into the 25-year-old's death was adjourned last week after the coroner said he "had no choice" but to delay his verdict because the because the U.S. refused to release the tape.
"A copy of the video was used as evidence by the Board of Inquiry's investigation into the incident. ...This recording is the property of the United States government and the MoD does not have the right to release it without their permission," a spokeswoman for the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
The incident has been a sore spot with some British lawmakers who have demanded that U.S. soldiers involved in friendly fire incidents attend U.K. hearings. The U.S. has denied requests for serveicemen to appear in court, but does submit anonymous statements on each case.
Sources said last week that the original tape, which the Ministry of Defense claimed did not exist, was "incriminating" and contained the line: "Someone's going to jail for this."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250418,00.html
The tape, which was obtained by Britain's The Sun newspaper, reportedly captures the voices of two American pilots immediately after they mistakenly opened fire on British military convoy near Basra, Iraq, on March 28, 2003.
"God damn it," one of the pilots shouts.
"We're in jail, dude," another responds.
Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, 25, died of injuries sustained as the American A-10 "tankbuster" aircraft pumped 500-rounds per second into Hull's unit.
A British investigation into the 25-year-old's death was adjourned last week after the coroner said he "had no choice" but to delay his verdict because the because the U.S. refused to release the tape.
"A copy of the video was used as evidence by the Board of Inquiry's investigation into the incident. ...This recording is the property of the United States government and the MoD does not have the right to release it without their permission," a spokeswoman for the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
The incident has been a sore spot with some British lawmakers who have demanded that U.S. soldiers involved in friendly fire incidents attend U.K. hearings. The U.S. has denied requests for serveicemen to appear in court, but does submit anonymous statements on each case.
Sources said last week that the original tape, which the Ministry of Defense claimed did not exist, was "incriminating" and contained the line: "Someone's going to jail for this."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250418,00.html