24 January 2006
Mahmoud Za'al
Crossfire
Mahmoud Za'al, who worked for Baghdad TV satellite channel, was filming an attack on two buildings occupied by U.S. forces in Ramadi when he was wounded in the legs and then killed moments later in a U.S. air strike.
Baghdad TV, which is owned by the biggest Sunni political grouping, the Iraqi Islamic Party, confirmed Za'al's death and said it was investigating the circumstances. The U.S. military said it was checking the report. Witnesses said at noon on Tuesday gunmen began firing mortar rounds at the governorate directorate building and the Iraqi Nationality Department, both bases for U.S. forces.
The gunmen also blasted the buildings with heavy machineguns and rocket propelled grenades, they said. "When they got very close to these buildings, helicopters and other military planes started shooting at them," one witness said. "The cameraman was in the streets to film the clashes when he was wounded, first in his legs, and then when U.S. planes started shooting he was killed."
