CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Sun. Jan. 29 2006 7:18 PM ETABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and Canadian cameraman Doug Vogt are both in stable condition Sunday following surgery for injuries suffered in an explosion while reporting in Iraq.
Woodruff and Vogt were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division and travelling with U.S. and Iraqi troops when an improvised explosive device detonated near Taji, which is about 20 kilometres north of Baghdad.
"They were with an Iraqi army unit at the time the attack occurred and are at a U.S. military medical facility now," U.S. military spokesman Lt.-Col. Barry Johnson said.
Both suffered head injuries and were evacuated to a U.S. military hospital for surgery, ABC News President David Westin said. They were wearing body armor and helmets, the network said.
Vogt was reportedly awake and lucid after undergoing surgery to remove a piece of shrapnel that had penetrated his skull. He will undergo more surgery in a day or two to remove more shrapnel from his shoulder...
...ABC reported senior producer Kate Felsen had been working with Woodruff for the past two weeks.
"He wanted to get out and report the story and not be locked in and taking information from someone else who was experiencing it," Felsen said.She said she spoke with Woodruff and Vogt after the attack.
"Doug was conscious, and I was able to reassure him we were getting them care. I spoke to Bob also and walked with them to the helicopter," Felsen said...