Saeed Chmagh
Saeed Chmagh | |
---|---|
armor-piercing shell | |
Occupation(s) | Driver and camera assistant |
Employer | Reuters |
Children | 4 |
Saeed Chmagh (
Life and career
Chmagh was born January 1, 1967, in Iraq.
Chris Helgren, then Reuters' chief photographer in the region, launched a plan to employ and train Iraqis, with more local knowledge and access to areas now perilous for Westerners.[2] Helgren said: "There are few 'good news' stories to be had in this war and wars by definition are tales of violence. And to get there, drivers like Saeed Chmagh are indispensable." "Saeed had a reputation of being fiercely loyal and appeared fearless to me. If you ever needed to get quickly to a dangerous area, passing chicanes of barbed wire and boobytraps, Saeed was your man. But he also had a very quiet, loving side and spoke often of his kids."[2]
Airstrike and death
On July 12, 2007, after several skirmishes in the area, two American
After their deaths, Reuters screened a photographic tribute to Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh in New York City's Times Square and London's Canary Wharf.[5] The shootings and their deaths are detailed in a 2009 non-fiction book by David Finkel, titled The Good Soldiers.[4]
Video release
For more than three years after the shooting, Reuters and other organizations sought probes into the deaths of Noor-Eldeen and other journalists killed in Iraq, but the U.S. military withheld key information on the grounds that it was classified. The military also refused to release a video taken from one of the gunships that captured the complete sequence and radio communication during the shootings. On April 5, 2010, the video was released on the website WikiLeaks, which said it acquired the video from military whistle-blowers and viewed it after breaking the encryption code.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d "Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh". The Baron. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ Times Online. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ a b "Photographer killed in Iraq". British Journal of Photography. July 18, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Tyson, Ann Scott (September 15, 2009). "Military's Killing of 2 Journalists in Iraq Detailed in New book". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c Kiss, Jemima (July 12, 2007). "Reuters staff killed in Iraq". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Rubin, Alissa J. (July 13, 2007). "2 Iraqi Journalists Killed as U.S. Forces Clash With Militias". The New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Bumiller, Elisabeth (April 5, 2010). "Video Shows American Killing of Photographer". The New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Franke-Ruta, Garance (April 5, 2010). "Web site releases video of Baghdad attack that killed 2 journalists". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ McGreal, Chris (April 5, 2010). "Wikileaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Goodman, Amy (2010-04-06). "Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity of Their Own Chilling Video Showing Killing of Journalists". Democracy Now. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
- ^ "Iraqi doctor working for Danish NGO killed". The Peninsula. July 13, 2007.
External links
- Collateral Murder – WikiLeaks-owned alternate site, includes full footage of the video as originally released
- Wikileaks releases classified 2007 video showing killing of civilians by U.S. helicopter in Iraq at Wikinews
- Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity – video report by Democracy Now!