WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- An Arabic television network has come under criticism by the United States for airing death threats against Americans.
The video footage showed masked men who threatened to kill members of the U.S.-appointed governing council in Iraq.
Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television broadcast the video footage on Tuesday.
They were heard to threaten the lives of those serving on the governing council in Baghdad and of any Iraqis who co-operated with the U.S.-led administration.
"We find al-Arabiya's decision to air the remarks of these masked terrorists to be irresponsible in the extreme," said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker.
"We have to question why an organization claiming to be a legitimate news service would effectively provide this conduit for terrorists to communicate plans, tactics and incitement to murder and to attempt to disrupt the peaceful aspirations of the Iraqi people."
Al-Arabiya, al-Jazeera and others have also been condemned in the past for broadcasting al-Qaida messages.
