Reuters has asked the US military to conduct a full and objective investigation into the deaths of two employees in Baghdad on 12 July. Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40, a father of four, were killed while working in the eastern area of the Iraqi capital.
The cause of their deaths is unclear. The US military issued a statement describing the incident as a firefight with insurgents and said the killings were being investigated. Witnesses interviewed by Reuters said they saw no gunmen in the immediate area and that there had been a US helicopter attack, which police described as "random American bombardment". Reuters reported it was doing everything it could to work with the authorities to find out how the men died, and was supporting the families.
"Our preliminary investigation raises real questions about whether there was fighting at the time the two men were killed," said Reuters editor-in-chief David Schlesinger. "For the sake of their memory and for the sake of all journalists in Iraq, we need a thorough and objective investigation that will help us and the military learn lessons that will improve the safety of journalists in the future."
The deaths of Namir and Saeed takes the number of Reuters employees killed in Iraq to six since U.S.-led forces invaded the country in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
"Once again we are left mourning colleagues who have met an untimely death while doing their job in Iraq," said chief executive Tom Glocer. "Our sympathies and thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues today.
"Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh's outstanding contribution to reporting on the unfolding events in Iraq has been vital. They stand alongside other colleagues in Reuters who have died doing a job that they believe in."
Namir was single. Saeed was married with four children.
Over the past two months Reuters has learned of the deaths of three journalists working for the independent Iraqi news agency Aswat al-Iraq, a project managed by Reuters Foundation, and the death of a former Reuters cameraman . A translator who worked for the Reuters text service in Baghdad was also killed in July, by gunmen. His family asked that his name be not published.
