Is the Video of Burning Pilot Legit?

From the wire services:

Gunmen shouting "God is Great!" dragged the burning body of what they said was a U.S. pilot in a horrific video posted Wednesday on the Web by a new al-Qaida-affiliated group that claimed it shot down an Apache helicopter last weekend.

On Thursday the U.S. military said Iraqi forces have captured the prime suspect in last year's kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena.

Mohammed Hila Hammad Obeidi, also known as Abu Ayman, was arrested in southern Baghdad on March 7 but the announcement was delayed pending DNA tests to verify his identity, the U.S. command said in a statement.

Abu Ayman is believed to have led the Secret Islamic Army in Babil province south of Baghdad and is said to have close ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of al-Qaida in Iraq. He was also an aide to the chief of staff of intelligence during Saddam Hussein's regime, the U.S. statement said.

Also Thursday, roadside bombings in Iraq killed two security forces and wounded at least 12, officials said.

One of the bombs exploded near a police patrol in western Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding five, officials said. A second bomb detonated when another group of police arrived at the scene, wounding two more policemen.

North of the capital, an Iraqi army patrol was also hit by a roadside bomb, killing one officer and wounding five soldiers outside the city of Baqouba.

Meanwhile Wednesday, the U.S. military expressed outrage over the release of "such a despicable video for public exposure" but said it had serious doubts that the footage was authentic.

The AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter was downed near Youssifiyah about 12 miles southwest of Baghdad on Saturday, killing the two pilots. A U.S. statement said troops had recovered "all available remains" although "reports of a Web site video suggest that terrorists removed part of a body from the crash site."

The flaming wreckage of a helicopter could be seen clearly in the video, including outlines of the aircraft's blades and jagged pieces of wreckage strewn over a field.

The camera panned over bloodstained debris, then showed several men dragging the burning body of a man across a field as they shouted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great!" Voices could be heard in the background shouting "come, come, help me carry it."

The body's face was not visible, but the camera zoomed in on what appeared to be his waistline, which showed a scrap of underwear with the brand name "Hanes." It appeared the the man was wearing tattered digital camouflage fatigues, which are worn by U.S. troops in Iraq.

The time stamp on the video which shows the minutes and seconds do not run sequentially, and the scenes appear disjointed. The posting also included bombing scenes filmed elsewhere, indicating the material had been edited as a propaganda package.

Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the command, said the wreckage shown on the video "does appear to be an AH-64" but added that other helicopters of that type have been lost.

"We have serious doubts about the authenticity of this video, a common tactic we see terrorist groups use to keep the stories they want alive in the media," he said.

But in Alexandria, Va., Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a defense contractor which monitors militant statements, said it appeared on first viewing that the tape was authentic. Although the date stamp on the video was Sunday, April 2, a day after the crash, Venzke said the discrepancy could be simply a technical error in the setting.

"Based on an initial review of the footage, it would seem to indicate the downing of a helicopter and the removal of crew and passengers from the craft," he said. "On an initial review, it does appear to be what it purports to be."

He said the large amount of background chatter among those on the ground suggested that "it was filmed closely after the downing of the helicopter as opposed to something that was found later and staged."