Explanation? Al-Qaeda doesn't want to kill the goose that lays the golden (propaganda) eggs.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0413/p06s03-wogn.htm
Strawberry Shopping in Iraq: Correspondent Jill Carroll went outside in Baghdad without her hijab Tuesday for the first time in three months. The head-to-toe traditional covering allows her to blend in, protecting her from possible kidnapping or attacks. But she had to renew her visa, and that required new photos. "I couldn't wear the hijab to the photo shop and then take if off - that would be a dead giveaway. No hijab-wearing Iraqi woman would take off her garment in public," says Jill. So she decided to go without.
"My Iraqi interpreter took one look at my jeans and shirt and told me to change into something more suitable. I put on a pair of black pants and tailored shirt that Iraqis wear."
Her interpreter signed off on the new wardrobe and they left. "I speak enough Arabic so that the clerk in the photo shop assumed I was Iraqi," says Jill.
While they were waiting for the photos to be developed, they went to a market. "It was a remarkable feeling to be able to walk in the street uncovered. I felt almost naked without the hijab, but also very liberated. We bought strawberries from Syria. That's the first time I've seen strawberries here."
"Notice how infrequently US journalists have been targeted (compared to 14 or so Iraqi journalists in 2005 alone)
Explanation? Al-Qaeda doesn't want to kill the goose that lays the golden (propaganda) eggs."
More likely that the US journalists have better protection and don't venture into as dangerous places as often. Never noticed Al-Qaeda being real choosy about which infidels they kill to be honest.