MARINES ENGAGE INSURGENTS, CAMERAMAN KILLED

CENTCOM ^ | November 2, 2004

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

	NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

November 2, 2004
Release Number: 04-11-04

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


MARINES ENGAGE INSURGENTS, CAMERAMAN KILLED

NEAR RAMADI, Iraq – Marines from the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force engaged several insurgents in a brief small-arms firefight that killed an individual who was carrying a video camera earlier Monday morning.

Identification badges found on the dead man confirmed employment with a major news agency.

A news agency acknowledged that a man they identified as a stringer for their service was killed today in a "clash" between insurgents and Marines.

Inspection of videotape in the camera revealed footage of previous attacks on Multi-National Force military vehicles that included the insurgent use of RPGs, an IED and small arms fire.

The insurgents fled the scene with their wounded but left the body of the dead man along the side of the road.

The Multi-National Forces and our Iraqi partners continue to isolate, kill and capture anti-Iraqi forces that attempt to destabilize Iraq.

[2banana]

TRANSLATION: Marines kill insurgent propaganda agent...

[Sender]

Hmmm, the tape had RPG and IED attacks on our vehicles? Sounds like this cameraman knew just where to be, and when.

[WOSG]

Iraq PING

[Dog]

Let me guess.....Al Jazeera.

[konaice]

"Inspection of videotape in the camera revealed footage of previous attacks on Multi-National Force military"

No doubt this guy was "covering" the attack, and knew about it ahead of time. Probably for one of the Terrorist appologist networks like Al Jazeera, or CNN.

[kimoajax]

Great shot! Now that is the sort of news that gets me excited.

[r9etb]

Identification badges found on the dead man confirmed employment with a major news agency.

I'm guessing it's either Al Jazz or Reuters, and that he's one of those "Arabically named" reporters.

[quack]

Note to self:If ever videotaping during war,pick the side that the Marines are on.

[apoc]

So, they finally picked off a CNN reporter.

[smith288]

Im going to say BBC

[Prince Charles]

Inspection of videotape in the camera revealed footage of previous attacks on Multi-National Force military vehicles that included the insurgent use of RPGs, an IED and small arms fire.

French paparazzi?

[kcvl]

Reuters cameraman killed

From correspondents in Fallujah
November 02, 2004

AN Iraqi cameraman working for Reuters was shot dead during clashes in rebel-held Ramadi yesterday and a United States war plane bombed nearby Fallujah overnight, the military and news agency said today.

Dhia Najim, a 57-year-old freelance video cameraman, was apparently shot dead by a sniper while on assignment for the London-based Reuters news agency, a Reuters correspondent in Baghdad said.

It was unclear whether the sniper had been an insurgent or a US soldier.

The US military is known to have stationed snipers in Ramadi as it fights to restore order to the lawless city, 100km west of Baghdad.

For its part, the US military confirmed that a cameraman working for a "major news agency" had been caught in clashes between US troops and rebel fighters.






"Marines from the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force engaged several insurgents in a brief small-arms fire fight that killed an individual who was carrying a video camera earlier Monday morning," it said.

The video camera found on Najim showed pictures of previous attacks on US-led troops, the military said.

Reuters had hired the Ramadi local as a freelance and the father of four had been working for the news agency at the time of his death.

The media company would ensure Najim's wife, son and three daughters were looked after, the correspondent said.

In another flashpoint city east of Ramadi, the US military unleashed an air raid of the rebel hotspot of Fallujah, in what has become a near daily bombardment of the Sunni Muslim bastion, west of Baghdad.

"A US Air Force plane engaged a pre-planned target using precision ordnance, which destroyed a known enemy cache site on the southeast side of the city," it said in a separate statement.

Expectations of a two-pronged assault on the twin cities of Fallujah and Ramadi – believed to be the nerve centre of Iraq's violent insurgency – are rising as the interim government vows to crush pockets of insurgency ahead of elections promised by January.

Since mid-October, US troops have encircled Fallujah, where the military has repeatedly launched air strikes and limited ground incursions. They are currently doubling their troop strength to 2000 in Ramadi.

[Hatteras]

CNN. Carrying on the embedded reporter tradition...

[Se7eN]

*Intro Filter: Hey man, nice shot*

[is_is]

This was the 2/5 Marines in Ramadi.

My son's unit.

Semper Fi, son!

[Conspiracy Guy]

BINGO

[Defiant]

Yesterday, on Fox, they said that a cameraman whose footage they had sometimes used had been killed in Iraq. They showed some footage of a battle, and said it was the last footage he shot. They said they were showing it as a tribute to him. I got the impression he wasn't working for Fox at the time he died.

[Hatteras]

Pardon me. Reuters hired an embedded reporter to run around with the terrorists? Nevermind right and wrong, what kind of poor fool would take THAT assignment?

Might even be considered a Darwin Awards candidate....

[Gunrunner2]

I guess that "Press Pass" doesn't make one bullet proof.

Idiot. . .goes to a firefight armed with a camera and expects protection?