WASHINGTON, Oct 1: America’s two industrial giants — Boeing Company and Bell Helicopter Textron — and a prominent US magazine, National Journal, have apologized for a print advertisement depicting US troops attacking a mosque.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it had received a statement of apology from Boeing, which sponsored the ad along with Bell. Representatives of Bell Helicopter and National Journal also contacted CAIR to express regret for the publication of the ad.

The ad for the CV-22 Osprey aircraft depicted soldiers rappelling onto the roof of a building, labelled “Muhammad Mosque” in Arabic. The building has a dome, crescent moon and minaret, all common features of a mosque.

The CAIR sent a letter this week to top officials of Boeing, Bell and Textron asking the companies to withdraw the advertisement and conduct an investigation into how it was approved for publication.