Abuse Allegations in British Video
LIN: New pictures of a familiar problem. A London newspaper obtains video of Iraqi civilians allegedly being assaulted by British forces. The victims appear to be Iraqi youths. Our Paula Newton is tracking the story.</s>PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video, said to have been shot two years ago, begins as rioters are running away. But in pursuit, British soldiers. The tape then cuts to at least four Iraqi teenagers being dragged out of sight and into a scene of brutality.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, oh, yes, you're going to get it.</s>NEWTON: The disturbing blow-by-blow narration of the camera is chilling.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, military little boys. Yes, yes.</s>NEWTON: As the boys endure repeated blows and beg for mercy, again the mocking voice of the unidentified cameraman.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, please, don't hurt me.</s>NEWTON: Witnessing the entire scene, several other British soldiers who walk by and do nothing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You little (bleep), die.</s>NEWTON: The beatings seem to go on even as the boys are subdued. One is kicked in the genitals while another seems to have passed out. The British Ministry of Defense had no choice but to respond quickly.</s>BRIG. MARTIN RUTLEDGE, BRITISH ARMY: The images in this video amount to very serious allegations. They're extremely disturbing and are the subject of an urgent royal military police investigation.</s>NEWTON: That was echoed by a visibly shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair, now in South Africa.</s>TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We take seriously any allegations of mistreatment. And those will be investigated very fully indeed.</s>NEWTON: The video was released by the British newspaper the "News of the World." Editors there say they received the video from a whistleblower whom they refuse to identify, but they insist they've done all they can to authenticate it.</s>STUART KUTTNER, MANAGING EDITOR, NEWS OF THE WORLD: We went to exhaustive lengths to be absolutely sure they are genuine, they're authentic. The footage is absolutely sound.</s>NEWTON: The newspaper claims the video was shot in Basra by a corporal in the British army, where most of the 8,000 British soldiers in Iraq are based. Iraqis who have seen the video have reacted with disgust and demands that foreign troops withdraw. "Iraqis are asking for the removal of British forces," he says, "the removal of the invaders." The video is also playing prominently on Arab television networks like Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, along with photos from the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal. (on camera): No matter how quickly this investigation proceeds, no matter what it finds or any punishment it hands out, the damage here is already done. The war remains deeply unpopular in Britain and this will only complicate the government's objectives in Iraq. Paula Newton, CNN, London.</s>LIN: Outrage in Turkey this time, protests over the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed escalate. For the latest on that and the other big stories, let's go to this CNN's Anand Naidoo. Anand?</s>ANAND NAIDOO, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, anger over those cartoons is growing in Turkey. At least 30,000 protesters took to the streets. This happening in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, that's in the southeast. It's Turkey's largest rally to date on this controversy. No violent incidents were reported there. But now at the other end of the country in Istanbul, ultra- nationalists, they pelted the French Consulate with eggs. Other demonstrators hung a poster showing a man symbolizing the United States, using a dog wrapped a Danish and E.U. flags to attack the Muslim holy book, the Koran. Now to the Pakistan/Afghan border. The "Associated Press" says another strike apparently from U.S. forces in Afghanistan hit a tent across the border in Pakistan. A.P. quotes Pakistan officials are saying that two women were killed, four children wounded. The U.S. military says a security person came under fire, first from the Pakistani side. They then returned fire. A U.S. spokesman said he has no report of any casualties on either side. Now, moving to Iraq, political moves at the top. The United Iraqi alliances taps Ibrahim al-Jaafari as its candidate for prime minister. It's a post that he already holds, the alliance won the most seats in the December elections. And that makes al-Jaafari the favorite to hold that position. He won the party's nomination by just one vote. That's it for me, Carol.</s>LIN: Hey, Anand, any word when there is going to actually be a prime minister?</s>NAIDOO: Well, Carol, it's quite a process. What happens is that the legislature, which is now in place, has to select a president and two vice presidents, that's the presidential council. They will name a prime minister. He appoints a cabinet, that's the government, and that has to be approved again by the legislature. So we're looking at a few months here.</s>LIN: All right, Anand, thank you. Winter at its worst, that nor'easter lived up to its name. Find out how it's going to affect your travel tomorrow morning.</s>GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Gary Nurenberg at Washington's Reagan National Airport, where it's becoming increasingly true that you can get there from here. More on the aftermath of the storm, coming up in a live report -- Carol.</s>LIN: And later, you want to stay in tip-top shape as you age, right? Well find out the foods that will keep you that way. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.