Militant Group Says Grim Video Shows Downed Us Apache Pilot

A jihadist group yesterday posted a blurry video on the internet purporting to show an American helicopter pilot being dragged burning along the ground. The group, the Shura Council of Mujahideen, claimed its military wing had shot down the Apache helicopter in Iraq.

Parts of the video were blurry, and the face of the man being dragged was not shown. His clothes were so tattered it was impossible to tell if he was wearing an American military uniform, although he appeared to be wearing military fatigues.

The US military reported one of its Apache Longbow helicopters had crashed on Saturday, possibly after coming under fire, west of the town of Yusufiyah, 10 miles south-west of Baghdad. An official statement said that although reports of the video suggest "terrorists removed part of a body from the crash site, the authenticity of the video cannot be confirmed".

"We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure," Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Withington said.

The footage in the video, which was also emailed to reporters, was blurry but the helicopter could be seen clearly. The footage showed the outlines of the craft's destroyed blades and blood on various jagged pieces of the metal wreckage spread over a field. However, it was not possible to see if the helicopter had US markings.

The video also clearly showed the bloodied, burning body of a man being dragged, by several other men, through a field. Before the body was moved, the camera zoomed in on what appeared to be his waistline, which showed a scrap of underwear with the brand name "Hanes" on it.

The Albany Times Union in New York state reported that Captain Timothy Moshier, 25, of nearby Bethlehem, was one of those killed when the Apache he was piloting crashed at around the same time and place southwest of Baghdad.

In Baghdad yesterday Saddam Hussein was cross-examined for the first time in his six-month-old trial, saying he approved death sentences against Shia villagers in the 1980s because he believed the evidence had proven they were involved in an assassination attempt against him. Saddam, standing alone as the sole defendant, dodged questions from prosecutors about his role in a crackdown against Shia in the 1980s, giving long speeches and calling the court "illegitimate". After a nearly six-hour session, the chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, adjourned the court.

Saddam duelled with the chief prosecutor, Jaafar al-Moussawi, over whether he knew minors were sentenced to death during his regime.

Saddam avoided a direct reply when Mr al-Moussawi displayed a series of documents and repeatedly asked if the signatures on them were Saddam's. The prosecutors also showed a video they said was taken in the 1980s that showed Saddam talking about "enemies of the revolution" - comments Saddam said were shown out of context.

Defence lawyer Bushra al-Khalil was removed from the courtroom after a dispute with Judge Abdel-Rahman over the video.