Posted on 05/21/2004 5:47:11 AM PDT by TexKat
DUBAI, Reuters (Reuters) - Arab channel Al Jazeera said on Friday one of its employees was killed overnight in clashes between U.S. forces and militiamen loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Qatar-based news network also demanded the U.S. Army conduct a full and quick investigation into the death of 38-year-old Rashid Hamid Wali.
The father of six was killed while Al Jazeera was filming fighting in the southern city of Kerbala where U.S. forces are battling to put down a weeks-old rebellion by Sadr's militia.
"Al Jazeera announces with a heavy heart the death of Rashid Hamid Wali, a member of its team covering events in Kerbala. Rashid died as a result of a bullet that hit him in the left eye, exiting the back of the head," a statement said.
"The fateful incident took place while Al Jazeera's team, positioned on the rooftop of their hotel, was covering fierce fighting between U.S. forces and the Mehdi Army," a network statement said.
"Wali was hit by a single bullet when he stuck his head out from the rooftop of the hotel, looking down on the street, after hearing the sound of U.S. armored vehicles moving."
It said it had no details about the source of the bullet but added witnesses showed newsmen samples of the bullets that hit the area.
"Al Jazeera asks the U.S. occupying forces and the temporary Iraqi Governing Council to carry a quick, official and full investigation to find out the facts," it added.
The channel showed footage of Wali's young son, family and colleagues crying as they received the news.
Twenty-eight journalists have died covering the war and its aftermath since the United States and its coalition partners invaded in March 2003 to oust President Saddam Hussein.
The Arab channel, which has angered Washington for its graphic coverage of the war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, lost one of its correspondents, Tareq Ayoub, in April 2003 when U.S. forces fired at Jazeera offices in Baghdad.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said this month Iraqi journalists were playing a larger role in covering the U.S.-led war and were frequently harassed, threatened and attacked by occupation troops and insurgents.
Iraqi journalists were critical to reporting uprisings in the restive Sunni town of Falluja west of Baghdad and the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf in April, CPJ said. The cities were considered too dangerous for Western journalists, especially nationals of countries in the U.S.-led coalition.
CPJ said that nearly all of the journalists killed in 2003 were foreign correspondents from Britain, Spain, Australia, Germany, the United States and other countries.
This year, 12 of the 14 journalists killed were Iraqis, while six Iraqi media workers were also killed.
Investigation conclusions...He was with the militants and we shot him/s
When it comes to Al Jazeera, this is a damned good start. But only a start.
The US responded for Al Jazeera to eat sh** out of a camel's butt.
Im deeply deeply deeply saddened
Note to wartime journalists...your job is risky.
Hint: Do not embed with the losing side.
Yes Virginia, there is an Allah. Allah Akbar!! Well, it's a good start anyway ;-)
Im all broke up!
The only pictures that I have seen from the roof tops always show the enemy fighters carrying AK47s or rocket propelled grenades, sneaking from roof top to roof top looking for ways to attack our brave troops. Obviously, this guy was with the bad guys and when you're with them in that environment, you might just end up with a similar fate.
Isn't that a delicacy for Al Jazeera newsmen?
Well, I know that's a source for many of their reports...
I'm sure the cameraman was only trying to shoot a US soldier.
Nothing to see here. Move on.
Does he get his 72 virgins?
A news source and a food source. lol
Well, sort of...see reply #4 for more details.
I am much more troubled by the death of a reporter/photographer from either side as the other side is troubled by the death of anyone who gets in their way. This is one of the risks of being in a combat zone. I find pretty curious that this press agency manages to be at so many firefights and almost always in the area of the enemy. The lesson here is that as a combat photographer you have a dangerous job. Keep your head down! My sincerest sympathy to his wife and children. No family deserves to lose their husband/father. Hopefully they can take some comfort in the fact he died doing what he liked to do. I can't imagine he would have been in place had he not agreed to the assignment.
There's a silk lining in every cloud as they say. The only cloud I could find here was he'd been busy procreating.
Good shooting. Now see if they can nail some Reuters correspondents...
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