Press Releases

04/26/2005

TV cameraman working for AP killed in northern city of Mosul

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A television cameraman working for The Associated Press was killed April 23 when gunfire broke out after an explosion in the northern city of Mosul. An AP photographer was wounded.

AP identified the victims, both Iraqis, as Associated Press Television News cameraman Saleh Ibrahim, 33, and photographer Mohammed Ibrahim, 46. The two men were brothers-in-law.

The circumstances of the death and injury remained unclear. A U.S. military official, who would not allow the use of his name, said the two men had been "caught up in the sweep after the situation."

"We are grief-stricken at the news of Saleh Ibrahim's death," said AP President and CEO Tom Curley. "His fervent dedication to reporting the complete story of Iraq at this historic moment inspired all who knew and worked with him. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family." Saleh Ibrahim was a father of three.

Curley said AP would "fully investigate this tragic happening so we can understand the circumstances under which it occurred."

The explosion happened around 2:30 p.m. near al-Yarmook circle in the city 225 miles north of Baghdad, according to other journalists who responded to the blast. The cause of the explosion was not determined.

The two AP journalists drove to the site together, according to a colleague at the scene. U.S. forces were in the area when they arrived, the colleague said.

Gunfire broke out and the two AP journalists were hit, the colleague told AP. The colleague's employer asked that his name not be used because of fear for his safety.

Col. Wathiq Ali, deputy police chief in Mosul, said the explosion targeted a U.S. patrol and injured two Iraqi civilians. "The police did not interfere in that incident because the U.S. troops were there," he said.

The colleague drove the two wounded AP journalists to al-Jumhouri Educational Hospital.

Saleh Ibrahim was treated for three bullet wounds to the chest and died soon after arrival, Dr. Rabei Yassin said at the hospital. Mohammed Ibrahim was treated for shrapnel wounds to the back of the head, Yassin said.

While at the hospital, Mohammed Ibrahim was escorted away by U.S. forces. He was released April 24.

Saleh Ibrahim's death brings to 28 the number of journalists who have lost their lives covering stories for the AP since the news cooperative was founded in 1848.

In addition, Ismail Taher Mohsin, an Iraqi driver who worked for the AP, was ambushed by gunmen and killed near his home in Baghdad last Sept. 2. The reasons for the slaying have never become clear.