Anti-U.S. war movie hit in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A movie depicting Americans as the bad guys in Iraq has become a super hit in Turkey, a secular Muslim country and a NATO ally of the United States.

More than 2.5 million Turks thronged to see the movie "Valley of the Wolves -- Iraq" in the first 10 days and pirate copies reportedly are doing a roaring business.

"The film is absolutely magnificent," Bulent Arinc, the parliament speaker and one of several politicians to attend the gala in Ankara, told The London Times. "It is completely true to life."

The report said the audience clapped when the "bad guy," played by Billy Zane, was killed. What has upset the Turks was the arrest of 11 Turkish special forces, which is the opening scene in the movie, but for which the United States already has apologized. The movie also shows the Abu Ghraib abuse.

A 26-year-old editorial assistant said the movie "shows all the awful things the American soldiers did in Iraq." U.S. diplomats have tried to play down the significance of the movie.