From the extensive WFMU blog:
Here's the "trophy video" which alleges to show
(possibly Irish or Scottish) security contractors in
Baghdad randomly shooting at motorists on the infamous
highway linking Baghdad to the airport: downloadable
quicktime video. Although the incident is being
investigated, since the shooters in this case were
private employees (of Aegis Defense, Ltd, a firm
hired by the US), they're not in any legal danger,
even if the people they shot were innocent civilians.
The Elvis song "Mystery Train" was added later by the
Aegis employees who shot the footage. The video first
appeared on [this] Aegis employee's site, but the
files have since been removed.
http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/0511/baghdad_trophy.mov
Here's a Telegraph UK article about it.
'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors
shooting up Iraqi drivers
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 27/11/2005)
A "trophy" video appearing to show security guards in
Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked
two investigations after it was posted on the
internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The video has sparked concern that private security
companies, which are not subject to any form of
regulation either in Britain or in Iraq, could be
responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent
Iraqis.
The video, which first appeared on a website that has
been linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services,
contained four separate clips, in which security
guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian
cars. All of the shooting incidents apparently took
place on "route Irish", a road that links the airport
to Baghdad.
The road has acquired the dubious distinction of being
the most dangerous in the world because of the number
of suicide attacks and ambushes carried out by
insurgents against coalition troops. In one four-month
period earlier this year it was the scene of 150
attacks.
In one of the videoed attacks, a Mercedes is fired on
at a distance of several hundred yards before it
crashes in to a civilian taxi. In the last clip, a
white civilian car is raked with machine gun fire as
it approaches an unidentified security company
vehicle. Bullets can be seen hitting the vehicle
before it comes to a slow stop.
There are no clues as to the shooter but either a
Scottish or Irish accent can be heard in at least one
of the clips above Elvis Presley's Mystery Train, the
music which accompanies the video.
Last night a spokesman for defence firm Aegis Defence
Services - set up in 2002 by Lt Col Tim Spicer, a
former Scots Guards officer - confirmed that the
company was carrying out an internal investigation to
see if any of their employees were involved.
The Foreign Office has also confirmed that it is
investigating the contents of the video in conjunction
with Aegis, one of the biggest security companies
operating in Iraq. The company was recently awarded a
£220 million security contract in Iraq by the United
States government. Aegis conducts a number of security
duties and helped with the collection of ballot papers
in the country's recent referendum
Lt Col Spicer, 53, rose to public prominence in 1998
when his private military company Sandlines
International was accused of breaking United Nations
sanctions by selling arms to Sierra Leone.
The video first appeared on the website
www.aegisIraq.co.uk. The website states: "This site
does not belong to Aegis Defence Ltd, it belongs to
the men on the ground who are the heart and soul of
the company." The clips have been removed.
The website also contains a message from Lt Col
Spicer, which reads: "I am concerned about media
interest in this site and I remind everyone of their
contractual obligation not to speak to or assist the
media without clearing it with the project management
or Aegis London.
"Refrain from posting anything which is detrimental to
the company since this could result in the loss or
curtailment of our contract with resultant loss for
everybody."
Security companies awarded contracts by the US
administration in Iraq adopt the same rules for
opening fire as the American military. US military
vehicles carry a sign warning drivers to keep their
distance from the vehicle. The warning which appears
in both Arabic and English reads "Danger. Keep back.
Authorised to use lethal force." A similar warning is
also displayed on the rear of vehicles belonging to
Aegis.
Capt Adnan Tawfiq of the Iraqi Interior Ministry which
deals with compensation issues, has told the Sunday
Telegraph that he has received numerous claims from
families who allege that their relatives have been
shot by private security contractors travelling in
road convoys.
He said: "When the security companies kill people they
just drive away and nothing is done. Sometimes we ring
the companies concerned and they deny everything. The
families don't get any money or compensation. I would
say we have had about 50-60 incidents of this kind."
A spokesman for Aegis Defence Services, said: "There
is nothing to indicate that these film clips are in
any way connected to Aegis."
Last night a spokesman for the Foreign Office said:
"Aegis have assured us that there is nothing on the
video to suggest that it has anything to do with their
company. This is now a matter for the American
authorities because Aegis is under contract to the
United States."
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