U.S. Troops Detain 2 AP Staffers in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. soldiers detained an Associated Press photographer and driver on Tuesday, handcuffing them, forcing them to stand in the sun for three hours and denying them water or use of a telephone.

Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division detained photographer Karim Kadim and driver Mohammed Abbas, both Iraqis, near Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, and kept their guns trained on them, despite repeated attempts to explain they were journalists.

"We identified ourselves from the very beginning as press, even before we approached the troops. I was asked not to take any pictures and I didn't. We were told to leave and we walked away, and then one of them shouted at us to come back," Kadim said.

An armored personnel carrier arrived moments later. Three soldiers disembarked and aimed their guns at the two men.

"A sergeant ordered us to raise our hands and face an APC. We were searched, and they took away all my camera gear. Then our hands were tied behind our backs, first with rope, and then with plastic handcuffs," said Kadim, extending his wrists to show marks left by the cuffs.

Abbas said the soldiers accused them of participating in the insurgency attacking U.S. troops.

"You know about the explosives here, you are part of the people who put them here," Abbas quoted one soldier as saying.

The two were later taken to a U.S. base, where Maj. Eric Wick apologized. Wick also called the AP office in Baghdad, saying it "was a misunderstanding on our part."

The group Human Rights Watch said the "reckless reactions" by U.S. soldiers in Iraq are putting journalists and other civilians in unnecessary danger.

"As attacks against them continue, U.S. soldiers are sometimes resorting to deadly force in a reckless and indiscriminate way," said Joe Stork, acting executive director of the group's Middle East and North Africa Division.

The United States, as the occupying power in Iraq, is obligated to follow international humanitarian law and human rights standards, which include avoiding disproportionate harm to civilians, he said. The group also called for an investigation.

On Thursday, U.S. soldiers shot up Kadim's car in Khaldiyah during a firefight after an American convoy was hit with a remote-controlled roadside bomb. Kadim was in the car, along with another driver, and both jumped out and ran for cover after they saw a tank had them in its sights. They were fired on as they ran and the car was badly damaged. Neither man was hurt. The AP sent a letter of protest to the U.S. military in Baghdad.

Some of photographer Karim Kadim's work...

	Jouri Mohammed, sister of Ali Khalaf Mohammed, grieves over her brother's death next to a missle crater in the yard of their farm after a U.S. aircraft fired six missiles in al-Sajr, Iraq 9 miles (15 kms) north of Fallujah, Tuesday Sept. 23, 2003 killing three men and wounding three others, police and villagers said. The U.S. military said its forces were pursuing guerrillas who attacked soldiers and that it knew of only one person killed. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 23 4:02 PM

	Lying wounded in Fallujah, Iraq hospital beds, from right, Abed Rasheed, 50, Tahseen Mohammed, 9 and his brother Hussein, 11, await further medical treatment after a U.S. aircraft fired six missiles in al-Sajr, Iraq 9 miles (15 miles) north of Fallujah, Tuesday Sept. 23, 2003 wounding the three and killing three other men, police and villagers said. The U.S. military said its forces were pursuing guerrillas who attacked soldiers and that it knew of only one person killed. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 23 11:26 AM

	A relative of Ali Khalaf Mohammed points at a hole in the roof of his farm house after a U.S. aircraft fired six missiles in al-Sajr, Iraq 9 miles (15 kms) north of Fallujah, Tuesday Sept. 23, 2003 killing three men and wounding three others, police and villagers said. The U.S. military said its forces were pursuing guerrillas who attacked soldiers and that it knew of only one person killed. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 23 11:11 AM

	An Iraqi boy walks past the remains of a US military truck after an attack 20 kilometers, 12 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq Friday Sept. 19, 2003. No injuries were reported in the attack. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 19 12:59 PM

	An Iraqi boy drags a firehose left behind on the highway near the burning remains of a US military truck after an attack 20 kilometers, 12 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq Friday Sept. 19, 2003. No injuries were reported in the attack. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 19 12:59 PM

	A US tank passes by as a crane removes a burned American military truck after US troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah on Sept.18, 2003. The Bush administration has asked Turkey, Pakistan and South Korea to send a total of up to 40,000 troops to Iraq as part of a global U.S. drive for help to secure the country still wracked by violence, officials from the nations told The Associated Press. The recruiting drive by Washington is aimed at relieving the burden of the 140,000 American troops spearheading theIraq occupation force in a country where U.S.-led forces are coming under frequent attack. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 19 12:18 PM

	Associated Press driver Qasem Abdul Zahra, looks at his car, damaged by gunfire after he said U.S. forces opened fire on him and AP photographer Karim Kadim while trying to photograph a site where American troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept.18, 2003. Neither Zahra or Kadim were injured and the car was moved later to this safe residential home nearby. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers, 62 miles west of Baghdad Thursday. Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 4:32 PM

	A crowd of Iraqis hold up a portrait of Saddam Hussein and pieces of burned U.S. military U.S. vehicles as they celebrate at a site where American troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept.18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 4:28 PM

	An Iraqi boy points a toy pistol in the face of a U.S. soldier as the two play together in a Baghdad neighborhood Thursday Sept. 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 4:22 PM

	A crowd of Iraqis hold up portraits of Saddam Hussein and pieces of burned U.S. military U.S.vehicles as they celebrate at a site where American troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept.18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 3:51 PM

	A U.S. soldier leans to look at a pile of spent rifle cartridges, said by soldiers to be fired from Iraqi weapons, at a site where American troops exchanged fire with Iraqi attackers in Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept.18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 3:27 PM

	An Iraqi man walks with an Ak-47 rifle as he and others were firing guns in the air to celebrate at a site where American troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 3:22 PM

	U.S. soldiers patrol a street near a pile of spent rifle cartridges, said by soldiers to be fired from Iraqi weapons, at a site where American troops exchanged fire with Iraqi attackers in Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept.18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded. (APPhoto/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 3:25 PM

	A crowd of Iraqis hold up portraits of Saddam Hussein and pieces of burned U.S. military U.S.vehicles as they celebrate at a site where American troops were ambushed near Khaldiyah Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. U.S. military vehicles were attacked in two seperate incidents around the town of Khaldiyah, 100 kilometers, 60 miles west of Baghdad Thursday. The U.S. military in Baghdad said two American soldiers were wounded. Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 18 1:33 PM

	Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio, right, shakes hands with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad Saturday Sept, 13, 2003. Palacio is in Iraq to assess developments in the political process and possible cooperation projects between the two nations. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 13 2:46 PM

	An Iraqi man walks past a bullet pocked and soot scarred Jordanian Hospital building in Fallujah, Iraq , after an early morning fire fight where U.S. soldiers mistakenly opened fire on a group of Iraqi policemen and at hospital guards in the building, killing eight Iraqis and wounding seven others including a guard at the Jordanian Hospital, witnesses said Friday Sept. 12, 2003. It was the deadliest friendly fire incident since the end of major fighting. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 12 6:19 PM

	Iraqis try to fill plastic containers with gasoline spilling from bullet holes in the side of an Iraqi gasoline truck on the side of a highway near the Iraqi town of Samarra Thursday Sept. 11, 2003. Iraqi police shot holes in the tanker after accusing the drivers of smuggling stolen gas. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 11 11:10 AM

	People released from Iraq 's Abu Graib prison celebrate and wave at traffic as they run down the highway on the outskirts of Baghdad in their former prison uniforms Tuesday Sept. 9, 2003. The men, who say they were held in Iraq's main prison for various crimes such as small arms weapon possession or theft , were released by US forces after three months in custody. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 09 11:00 AM

	U.S soldiers patrol in the street in front of Baghdad's abandoned television building, which witnesses say was set ablaze by looters Tuesday Sept. 9, 2003. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) AP - Sep 09 10:06 AM

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