"Carry Out God's Law"

By Liz Sly
Chicago Tribune

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A militant Islamic group posted a chilling video on the Internet on Friday purporting to show the capture and execution of a survivor from the helicopter believed to have been brought down by an insurgent missile.

The videotape, bearing the logo of the Islamic Army in Iraq, appeared to affirm suspicions that the Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter downed Wednesday was shot down by militants who raced to the scene of the burning wreckage.

Eleven people died — six American private security contractors, the three-man Bulgarian crew and two Fijian security guards.

The tape shows the blazing wreckage of a helicopter and the charred bodies of two men lying nearby.

"Zoom in," a voice tells the cameraman in Arabic when one of the bodies is found. "See if there are any more Americans."

Then the unseen cameraman comes across the figure of a man, dressed in a blue flight suit, lying in tall grass some distance away.

"Look at this filth," a voice says.

The Bulgarian company that owns the helicopter later identified the man as Lyubomir Kostov, the chief pilot, The Associated Press reported.

"Stand up, stand up," says the voice, in English.

"Hello. Give me a hand," the man responds, in accented English.

A hand pulls the pilot to his feet, and the men ask him whether he has weapons. Then they order him, "go, go", as though setting him free.

The pilot stumbles away, limping badly through the grass, and then the voice commands, in Arabic: "Carry out God's law!"

As the pilot half turns around, the men shout "God is great," and an unseen gunman opens fire, pumping nearly 20 bullets into him.

Think we'll see any outraged headlines, editorials, or political cartoons about that in the Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, or the New York Times? Neither do I.