The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that U.S. forces near Baghdad shot and killed an individual later identified as a Reuters reporter in what appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.
Mazen Dana, 43, is the second Reuters cameraman to be killed since the US-led force invaded Iraq. His death brought to 17 the number of journalists or their assistants who have died in Iraq since the war began on March 20.
Dana, a Palestinian cameraman for Reuters, was earlier shot and killed while reporting outside the notorious Abu Gharib prison. Witnesses said he was shot by U.S. soldiers.
Abu Gharib prison, 25 kilometers outside central Baghdad, has become a focus of anger at the U.S.-led occupation, with accusations that many of the 500 inmates are being held in horrid conditions.
[The Guardian reported later that Journalists who were with Dana accused the soldiers of behaving in a "crazy" and negligent fashion. They claimed the Americans had spotted the Reuters crew outside the jail half an hour before Dana was killed and must have realised he was not a guerrilla carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Another Witnesses said Dana was dressed in civilian clothes. "We were all there, for at least half an hour. They knew we were journalists. After they shot Mazen, they aimed their guns at us. I don't think it was accident. They are very tense. They are crazy," said Stephan Breitner of France 2 television.
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