Journalists killed, missing in attack on Iraq
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Journalists killed, missing in attack on Iraq
- A British reporter and Australian cameraman were killed in Iraq, while two other British journalists are missing.
March 24, 2003 — As allied troops faced more opposition over the weekend in the U.S.-lead attack on Iraq, news organizations suffered a blow with reports that two journalists were killed and another two are still missing.
The British ITV News (ITN) announced that its special correspondent Terry Lloyd had been killed, apparently in gunfire from U.S.-British forces. Two other ITN journalists, Fred Nerac, a French cameraman and Hussein Osman, a translator from Lebanon have been missing since March 22. ITN cameraman Daniel Demoustier was injured in the incident but was able to make it back to U.S. and British lines.
According to an ITN news release, Lloyd, 50, was married and had two children.
“He had just celebrated his 20th anniversary with ITN, making him ITV News’ longest serving reporter. He was also the first correspondent killed on assignment in ITN’s 48-year history,” ITN reported.
Also according to ITN, the four journalists were “caught in gunfire at Iman Anas as they were driving towards Basra in two civilian vehicles, unconnected with any military convoy.”
Reporters without Borders, a Paris-based international free-press organization, reported Sunday that Australian cameraman Paul Moran, 39, of the Australian ABC TV network, was killed March 22 in a car bomb explosion in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“The attack was at a checkpoint outside the village of Khormal, near the Iranian border. The journalists were waiting to enter the village to talk to refugees when a taxi appeared behind them and exploded,” the media organization reported.
“These tragedies must not be used by the warring parties as a pretext to further reduce the freedom of journalists to do their job in the war zone,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Menard in a March 23 statement.
— JL
© 2003 The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
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