No new probe into killing of Reuters news staff - US military

The two Reuters staff killed in the 2007 attack were photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40.

The graphic helicopter gunsight video of the attack has been widely viewed around the world on the Internet since its release on Monday by the group WikiLeaks. The footage includes an audio track of the conversation between the helicopter crew. Many who have seen it have been shocked at the images and at some of the fliers' comments.

International law and human rights experts who have watched the leaked video - obtained from military whistleblowers - say the Apache helicopter crew in the footage may have acted illegally.

Two US military officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that lawyers at Central Command have been reviewing the hitherto secret video, which was revealed on Monday by a group that promotes leaking to fight government and corporate corruption.

"We're looking at a reinvestigation because of a question of the rules of engagement. Were all the actions that are depicted on that video in parallel with the rules of engagement in effect at the time?" one of the officials said.

But Rear Admiral Hal Pittman, director of communications at Central Command, said in a statement to Reuters: "Central Command has no current plans to reinvestigate or review this combat action."

Other officials said Central Command was seeking to play down its role in determining whether to reopen the case because the unit involved was no longer based in Iraq, shifting the onus to Army and Pentagon leaders to make the decision.

Detailed rules of engagement are generally kept classified to avoid tipping off adversaries about tactics on the battlefield, Pentagon officials said.

David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief, said: "I would welcome a thorough new investigation. Reuters from the start has called for transparency and an objective inquiry so that all can learn lessons from this tragedy."

The US military has said an investigation of the incident shortly after it occurred found that US forces were not aware of the presence of the news staffers and thought they were engaging armed insurgents, mistaking a camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Human rights lawyers and other experts who have viewed the footage say they are concerned about how the helicopter fliers operated, particularly in opening fire on a van that arrived on the scene after the initial attack and whose occupants began trying to help the wounded.

Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British army officer who has conducted war zone investigations, said knowing what rules of engagement the pilots were operating under was critical to understanding whether they had acted appropriately.

But firing on those who came to help the wounded appeared to be a breach of the laws governing military conduct in war, he said. "That is the element that is blatant. That is against all humanitarian law and the rules of conflict - most definitely and without a doubt," he told Reuters.

Amnesty International called on Wednesday for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the incident. ■