The Committee to Protect Journalists has asked the Pentagon to conduct an investigation into the death of a Reuters cameraman in Iraq.
Iraqi freelance cameraman Dhia Najim was shot in the back of the neck Monday while working in Ramadi, the capital of restive Anbar province about 30 miles from Fallujah.
The CPJ wrote U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tuesday, asking for a full investigation. According to Reuters, video of Najim shot from a nearby building shows him moving into the open.
"As soon as he emerges, a powerful gunshot cracks out and he falls to the ground, his arms outstretched," Reuters reported Tuesday.
The video footage showed no signs of fighting in the vicinity and noted Najim had "filmed heavy clashes between Marines and insurgents earlier in the day but that fighting had subsided."
The 1st Marine Division acknowledges killing an "individual who was carrying a camera" during a firefight in Ramadi Monday.
The Marine unit said Tuesday Najim's videotape "revealed footage of previous attacks on Multi-National Force military vehicles that included the insurgent use of RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), an IED (roadside bomb) and small arms fire."
According to CPJ, Najim is the 36th journalist to be killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003. Another 18 media workers have been killed during the same time period. Nineteen journalists have died at the hands of Iraqi insurgents, while at least eight others have been killed by fire from U.S. forces.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
