More over emotional claptrap from Don T that brings nothing whatsoever to this discussion. The crews of those helicopters were doing their job which at the time was to protect US and Iraqi ground forces from an ambush that was being set for them on their line of advance. Get over it.

Sugarfootjack:

"OK the period was July 2007, what has been Reuters subsequent coverage of this story? Had they thought that anything was amiss they would have been screaming it from the roof-tops for over two-and-a-half years by now. They haven't - ask yourself WHY??"

You gave us two links "They did. From 2007" and "From the Press Gazette" SugarFoot those links refer to articles written on 20th July 2007 and the 16th July 2007 calling for an investigation into the incident that occurred on Thursday 12th July 2007.

Now what did subsequent reports state again??

Within 14 days of the incident taking place all evidence, all camera footage, voice tapes and photographic evidence was reviewed by Reuters Staff in Baghdad

14 days on from the 12th of July gives you what date SugarFoot - one that comes after the 20th of July possibly?? OK now give us the Reuter reports providing the hue and cry that post date the 26th July, 2007.

Lox, if the van was on the move how come neither helicopter (And I am assuming here that you do realise that there was more than one helicopter present) spotted its approach?? Yet in the transcript both crews can see and comment on the approaching US troops and vehicles who are also off camera. Apart from those vehicles moving not another vehicle is commented on apart from the van as it drew up next to the wounded man, so any vehicle making a longer approach to the scene would have stood out like a ball on an billiard table.

Of your eight men the Reuters crew had their own transport so would not need a lift would they - so we are now down to six

How many of those involved lived immediately local to the ambush site?? I do not know but there again neither do you. But for some reason you seem to automatically discount the possibility - Bias and willingness to always believe the worst. There would be locals there to take and hide the guns, you cannot after all risk having them found in the van at some check-point during the getaway had things gone to plan.

From what I could see on the video there were four armed men, three with AK-47's and one with an RPG-7 Grenade Launcher, it would be those men who would have needed a lift out of there in a hurry, so it is not eight people who had to get into the van only four.

Now here is another odd thing about incident K6936 as recorded by Iraq Body Count.org, this covering the initial attack on those setting up the ambush; those killed when the van appeared on the scene; and finally those who fled the initial attack location and who ran into the building under construction who were killed by the three "Hellfire" missiles:

Of the 10 deaths recorded here, some personal information was reported for 3 of the dead. (These include the two Reuters Staff)

Only demographic information, without any identifying details, was available for 3 other people recorded killed.

Neither personal nor demographic information was reported for 4 other people killed in this IBC entry.

So these were all peaceful law abiding locals out for a stroll were they?? But yet there is only real information on three of them, sketchy information on three others and no information at all on the remaining four - Oh how many had I estimated would have required a lift out of the area pdq as soon as the ambush had been sprung - 4 wasn't it??