Massacre at Um al-Abeed

From MediaMythBusters

1 Summary
2 Media Outlets reporting the massacre at Um al-Abeed
3 Conflicting Stories/Corrections
4 Prior similar reporting
5 External Links

Summary

The Associated Press, Reuters, and a small Iraqi Independent news agency called Voice of Iraq released stories on June 28, 2007 about the massacre of 20 men near Salman Pak in Um al-Abeed. The men were supposedly found decapitated on the banks of the Tigris River. The only two sources for the Associated Press article were anonymous police who were not located in Salman Pak, but were from Baghdad (more than a dozen miles away) and Kut (more than 75 miles away).

On June 30, 2007 Reuters reported that according to the U.S. military, the stories were "untrue and may have been planted by insurgents to provoke revenge attacks."

(Some material for this entry was used with permission of Bob Owens.)

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Media Outlets reporting the massacre at Um al-Abeed

AP: "Twenty Beheaded Bodies Were Discovered Today On The Banks Of The Tigris River Southeast Of Baghdad ." "Twenty beheaded bodies were discovered today on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, while a parked car bomb killed another 20 people in one of the capital's busy outdoor bus stations, police said. The beheaded remains were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al-Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, which lies 14 miles southeast of Baghdad. The bodies -- all men aged 20 to 40 years old -- had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found next to the bodies, two officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information." (Sinan Salaheddin, "20 beheaded bodies discovered," Associated Press, 6/28/07, http://www.nysun.com/article/57537)

CBS: "Southeast Of The City, 20 Beheaded Bodies Were Found." MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ, ANCHOR: "At least 20 people were killed today when a car bomb exploded at a Baghdad bus depot. Southeast of the city, 20 beheaded bodies were found." (CBS's "Early Show" 6/28/07)

Chicago Tribune: "BODIES FOUND." "BODIES FOUND: Villagers in Um al-Abeed reported finding 20 beheaded bodies, according to two police officers from separate commands. The Sunni village is near the city of Salman Pak, 15 miles southeast of the capital. Residents said that the victims were all men ages 20 to 40 and that their hands and legs had been bound, the officers said on condition of anonymity. Another police officer in eastern Baghdad said officials had heard the report and tried to send a force to confirm it but the mission was called off because the area was too dangerous." (Tribune News Services, "Iraq Digest," Chicago Tribune, 6/29/07)

Fox News (based on AP report): Twenty beheaded bodies were discovered Thursday on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, two Iraqi police officers said.

The dead — all men aged 20 to 40 years old — had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found next to the bodies, the officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The bodies were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al-Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, which lies 14 miles southeast of Baghdad.

One of the police officers is based in Baghdad and the other in Kut, 100 miles southeast of the capital. The Baghdad officer said he learned of the discovery because Iraq's Interior Ministry, where he works, sent troops to the village to investigate. The Kut officer said he first heard the report through residents of the Salman Pak area. (Fox News, June 28, 2007)

McClatchy: "20 Beheaded Bodies Were Found On The Banks Of The Tigris River Southeast Of The Capital." "A car bomb parked at a crowded Baghdad bus terminal killed at least 25 Thursday morning, while 20 beheaded bodies were found on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of the capital...The beheaded remains were found in the Sunni Muslim village of Um al Abeed, near the city of Salman Pak, 14 miles southeast of Baghdad. American forces launched a drive into Salman Pak and neighboring Arab Jabour two weeks ago. Ground forces commander Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno had said U.S. troops were heading into those areas in large numbers for the first time in three years. Iraqi forces recently also have fought suspected insurgents there. It was unclear whether the discovery of the bodies was related to the recent fighting." (Mike Drummond, "Car bombs kill 30 in Baghdad, ending lull," McClatchy Newspapers, 6/28/07,)

NPR: "Iraqi Authorities Said Today They Found The Bodies Of 20 Men Beheaded And Left On The Banks Of The Tigris." "Now right in the path of the American forces is a city called Salman Pak, from which there is grim news this morning. Iraqi authorities said today they found the bodies of 20 men beheaded and left on the banks of the Tigris." (National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," 6/28/07, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11501334)

The New York Times: "The Police Reported Finding 20 Decapitated Bodies." "And the police reported finding 20 decapitated bodies - a hallmark of Sunni extremists - south of the capital, although other officials later disputed the account....The discovery of 20 headless bodies was made in the Om-Obaid village near the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, according to a police official in nearby Madaen. A half-dozen heads were also found near the still-clothed bodies, which appeared to be of men of varying ages, he said. An Interior Ministry official asserted later that it was doubtful that bodies had in fact been found." (Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Stephen Farrell, "Sectarian Attacks Kill Dozens In Baghdad," The New York Times, 6/29/07, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?ref=world)

Reuters: "BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities found the bodies of 20 beheaded men dumped on the banks of the river Tigris in the town of Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said." ("Iraqi police find 20 beheaded bodies near Baghdad," Reuters, 06/28/07)

The Washington Post: "Residents Found 20 Decapitated Bodies On The Banks Of The Tigris River Early Thursday, News Agencies Reported." "In Madain, about 15 miles south of the capital, residents found 20 decapitated bodies on the banks of the Tigris River early Thursday, news agencies reported. The Associated Press said the bodies -- men ages 20 to 40 -- had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found near the corpses." (John Ward Anderson, "Residents Say 17 Killed by U.S. Were Not Insurgents," The Washington Post, 7/29/07)

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Conflicting Stories/Corrections

Multi-National Force -- Iraq Press desk, Baghdad, Iraq, June 30, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Friday, news media reported a mass killing in a village near Salman Pak where 20 men were allegedly found beheaded. It now appears that the story was completely false and fabricated by unknown sources. Upon learning of the press reports, coalition and Iraqi officials began investigating to determine if the reports were true. Ultimately it was concluded the reports were false. Anti-Iraqi Forces are known for purposely providing false information to the media to incite violence and revenge killings, and they may well have been the source of this misinformation. “Extremists promote falsehoods of mass killings, collateral damage and other violence specifically to turn Iraqis against other Iraqis,” said Rear Admiral Mark Fox, spokesperson for MNF-I. “Unfortunately, lies are much easier to state, the truth often takes time to prove,” said Fox. Not all media reports can be immediately substantiated by Government of Iraq or Coalition Forces. They must go through a process to verify such claims, to include checking with various Iraqi Ministry’s, local police and security forces. Meanwhile, extremists have achieved their goal of spreading false information aimed at intimidating civilians and destabilizing Iraqi security. Ultimately, media reporting based on verifiable sources will reduce the possibility of misinformation unnecessarily alarming citizens.

Reuters: "Media reports attributed to Iraqi police of 20 decapitated bodies found south of Baghdad this week were untrue and may have been planted by insurgents to provoke revenge attacks, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

Coalition and Iraqi officials began investigating to determine if the reports were true. Ultimately it was concluded the reports were false," the military said in a statement." ("US says report of 20 beheaded bodies in Iraq false", Reuters, 06/30/2007)

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