Iraq War Log: U.S. Apache Guns Down 14 Surrendering Insurgents

[Hissyspit]

http://www.iraqwarlogs.com/2010/10/20/us-commits-“war-crime”-as-apache-helicopter-cleared-to-gun-surrendering-insurgents/

US Apache guns down surrendering insurgents

October 20th, 2010 | by Angus Stickler | Published in All stories, Carousel, Story of the war, Top stories

On February 22 2007, a US helicopter engaged a group of insurgents involved in a mortar attack upon coalition forces, near Baghdad.

After firing a series of 30mm rounds, the crew of the helicopter – callsign “Crazyhorse” – radioed to their command, stating the insurgents “wanted to surrender”. The response was blunt: “CRAZYHORSE cleared to engage … Lawyer stated they cannot surrender to aircraft.”

The Apache crew killed the men.

February 22 2007
CRAZYHORSE reports AIF got into a dumptruck headed north, engaged and then they came out wanting to surrender…
CRAZYHORSE cleared to engage dumptruck. 1/227 Lawyer states they can not surrender to aircraft and are still valid targets.

It is one of the reports of most concern.

According to Claude Bruderlein, director of Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University, what is reported in the files about this incident would be a clear breach of international law.

“This idea that you cannot surrender to a helicopter is ridiculous, absolutely unacceptable,” he told the Bureau. “Surrendering is a fundamental principle of the law of armed conflict and you can surrender to aircraft. You cannot attack those that surrender.”

Bruderlein, a former special adviser to the UN Secretary General, cites the allegations as being a clear breach of article three of the fourth Geneva Convention, drawn up in 1949 following the second World War. It states “that non combatants and members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely” and prohibits “violence to life and person”.

According to the files, despite knowing the insurgents wanted to surrender, the crew not only opened fire with a Hellfire missile, but when it missed they actively chased them down to a shack where they had taken refuge. With the approval of their command unit, they opened fire again , killing both.

February 22 2007
CRAZYHORSE reports engaged and destroyed shack with 2x AIF …
CRAZYHORSE continued to observe for approx 20 minutes … CRAZYHORSE is off station to refuel and rearm.

MODS: Reproduced under Creative Commons License: http://www.iraqwarlogs.com/2010/10/07/steal-our-stories/

[Rex]

1. How do you surrender to an attack helicopter?

So could they have called in a tank or truck to come and get them for detainment? Or was this standard practice?

[SlipperySlope]

2. That *is* a good question.

Assuming the helicopter pilot had wanted to accept their surrender, how could he have possibly done so?

[Ghost in the Machine]

3. Yeah, it's not like that helicopter could just *land* and hold them until a ground unit showed up..

... oh, wait...

[BeFree]

4. Surrender or die!!

Oh wait, you can't surrender. You die.

Oh well, they're just muslins. We are over there to save them and if we can't then we just kill them?

The whole damn thing is a war crime. No excuses. This was a crime.