Iraqi Station Rebuts U.S. Account of Employee's Shooting

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post

Iraqi Station Rebuts U.S. Account of Employee's Shooting

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 4, 2009; A12



BAGHDAD, Jan. 3 -- The employer of an Iraqi television producer shot and wounded by U.S. troops on New Year's Day disputed the military's assertion Saturday that she had acted suspiciously and had failed to heed warnings before the troops opened fire.

Hadil Imad, who works for the satellite station Beladi TV, was shot on a bridge in central Baghdad as she approached a group of U.S. troops working with Iraqi police. She suffered serious injuries and underwent surgery, her employer said.

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The agreement allows for the prosecution of U.S. troops under Iraqi law only in the case of premeditated grave felonies committed when the personnel are off base and off duty, and only after American officials certify that threshold has been met.

A statement posted Saturday on the station's Web site said Imad was shot "in cold blood" and noted that the incident coincided with the implementation of the security agreement that Iraqi and U.S. officials have exalted as an affirmation of Iraq's sovereignty.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/03/AR2009010301720.html?wprss=rss_print/asection