Al-Arabiya journalist and two colleagues killed

BBC ^ | Thursday, 23 February 2006, 11:58 GMT | BBC

[winston2]

Shock over Iraqi reporter's death The killing of Atwar Bahjat, who rose to fame reporting from Iraq for both main Arabic satellite news networks, has shocked Arab journalistic circles. Gunmen kidnapped and killed her and two members of her crew near Samarra where they had gone to cover reaction to Wednesday's shrine bombing.

A member of the al-Arabiya TV team who escaped described how two gunmen showed up as they stood in a crowd of Iraqis.

They dragged Bahjat and her colleagues away and shot them.

Their bodies were found on the outskirts of Samarra, an area racked by sectarian violence since Wednesday's explosion that destroyed the revered Shia Muslim al-Askari shrine.

One of them started shouting 'We want the anchorwoman'. Atwar was in the news van and shouted to the crowd to help her Al-Arabiya reporter

A spokesman for al-Arabiya said Bahjat, an Iraqi citizen, was a Sunni Muslim. She was one of very few women to work as frontline conflict reporters for Arabic television. The 26-year-old had only recently moved to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV from the rival Qatari-owned station al-Jazeera.

The Qatari station has been heavily criticised by US military and political leaders for its coverage in Iraq, including suggestions that correspondents had prior knowledge of insurgency attacks - a charge denied by al-Jazeera.

[samadams2000]

Killing each other again are they?

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

LOL - nice tagline. BTTT

[pipecorp]

hey american liars..er journalists...take a lesson... it doesn't matter what side you're on. if they don't like you, you're dead.

[ishabibble]

One word: "INSURGENTS".

[Michael.SF.]

Shock over Iraqi reporter's death... has shocked Arab journalistic circles

"What's that? A reporter, dead, in Iraq.... I'm Shocked, shocked, I tell you."

[strategofr]

This is just the terrorist way of saying, "We disagree with your coverage."

Come to think of it, it's the terrorist way of saying everything. Probably, two-year-olds would act this way if they could have guns.

[Capt. Tom]

[Aaron0617]

This is just the terrorist way of saying, "We disagree with your coverage."

I wonder if they all knew she was a Sunni. If so, who allowed or told her to go there immediately after that dome exploded?

[strategofr]

"I wonder if they all knew she was a Sunni."

Apparently she was quite famous so the answer must be yes.

"If so, who allowed or told her to go there immediately after that dome exploded?"

Good question.

[truth_seeker]

"Killing each other again are they?"

It is just the way they work things out.

Time tested.

[river rat]

"The Qatari station has been heavily criticised by US military and political leaders for its coverage in Iraq, including suggestions that correspondents had prior knowledge of insurgency attacks - a charge denied by al-Jazeera."

Hmmmm.. Perhaps this was a good whack, or a needed warning......Iraqi style.

Semper Fi

[river rat]

""If so, who allowed or told her to go there immediately after that dome exploded?"

See Post 12.

Semper Fi

[an amused spectator]

I'm pretty sure she was half-Sunni, half Shi'ite.

[strategofr]

"I'm pretty sure she was half-Sunni, half Shi'ite."

Whew!