Arab Station: U.S. Troops Killed Cameraman

BAGHDAD, Iraq – An Arab satellite station said American soldiers shot and killed one of its cameramen and critically wounded a correspondent in Baghdad.

The all-news station Al-Arabiya (search), based in the United Arab Emirates (search), said cameraman Ali Abdel-Aziz and correspondent Ali al-Khatib were hit as they covered a nighttime rocket attack on Burj al-Hayat hotel (search) in the capital.

"There were a lot of cars in the area. One of them rammed an American Bradley fighting vehicle," said Mohammed Ibrahim, the station's editing supervisor in Baghdad (search). He claimed that the U.S. troops were firing at random.

He said both men were filming outside their car and began running away because they thought the car that rammed a military vehicle was a suicide bomber, Ibrahim said.

Three other Al-Arabiya staffers who were at the scene were unhurt, Ibrahim said.

Cpl. Craig Stowell, a U.S. military spokesman, said "one Iraqi was shot and killed when he tried to run a checkpoint near Burj al-Hayat hotel at 22:16."

Stowell had no further details.

Earlier Thursday, gunmen shot and killed three Iraqi journalists and wounded nine other employees of a coalition-funded television station in northeastern Iraq, police said.

The attack in the city of Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, occurred when attackers in a car opened fire on a minibus that the journalists were riding in, said Sanaa al-Daghistani, information director of Diyala TV. All the victims were employees of Diyala.

Police Capt. Mohammed Hadi identified the slain victims as Mohammed Farhan, Majeed Rashid and Nadia Shawkat.

Rebels often target Iraqis perceived as collaborators with the U.S.-led coalition that is governing Iraq. Guerrilla attacks on U.S. military patrols in the Baqouba area are frequent.