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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Body on video said to be U.S. pilot’s

Derek Rose New York Daily News

A gruesome video hit the Internet Wednesday showing Islamic militants dragging what appears to be the burning body of a U.S. pilot from his downed helicopter.

“We are outraged that anyone would create and publish such a despicable video for public exposure,” U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington said. “The terrorists continue to demonstrate their immoral disregard for human dignity and life.”

The Pentagon confirmed that an Army captain from Albany, N.Y., was one of two soldiers killed when the Apache helicopter was shot down Saturday. But it could not say whether the video is authentic.

The Army has told the family of Capt. Timothy Moshier, 25, of Albany that his body has been recovered, said family spokesman Jay Gallagher. The military would only say that “all available remains” had been recovered following the crash.

It was impossible to tell who the man in the video is.

The blurry tape shows a burning helicopter and jagged pieces of wreckage spread over a field. Several men drag a bloodied, burning body away as they shout “Allah Akbar! (God is great!)”

“Come, come, help me carry it!” yells one man in the background, according to a translation.

A face is never visible, though at one point the camera zooms in, showing a Hanes label on the waistband of underwear.

The video was posted on an Islamist Web site by a group calling itself the Mujahedeen Shura Council, purportedly a new umbrella organization of insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq.

The AH-64D Apache Longbow crashed at about 5:30 p.m. after coming under fire while on patrol about 10 miles southwest of Baghdad, Iraq, the military said. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer Michael Hartwick Jr. of Missouri.