NEW YORK Jan 29, 2006 — ABC News co-anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were seriously injured Sunday in an attack and explosion while reporting from Iraq.
The two journalists were traveling with U.S. and Iraqi troops near Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad, when an improvised explosive device went off, ABC News President David Westin said. Both suffered serious head injuries and were taken into surgery at a U.S. military hospital in the area, the network said.
Both Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were wearing body armor and helmets, the network said. The two had been embedded with the 4th Infantry Division and were traveling with an Iraqi Army unit. The Iraqi mechanized vehicle they were riding in is considered more dangerous than U.S. vehicles.
ABC said the two were traveling that way to get the perspective of the Iraqi military...
"ABC said the two were traveling that way to get the perspective of the Iraqi military..." and because the US Troops got sick and tired of the camera hitting the back of their heads and the reporter asking stupid questions.
...ABC News anchorman Bob Woodruff and his camera operator Doug Vogt have been seriously injured in an explosion. Both men suffered head injuries and sustained shrapnel wounds.
Woodruff and Vogt are currently undergoing surgery.Reports say Woodruff was taping a report inside a mechanized military vehicle near Taji, Iraq when the vehicle ran over and detonated an improvised explosive device.
ABC also reports that exchanges of small arms fire took place shortly after the explosion. MSNBC reports that Woodruff and Vogt were wearing body armor and helmets when the explosion occurred, measures that may turn out to have saved their lives...