Washington Post:
A British coroner ruled Friday that U.S. troops unlawfully killed a British television journalist during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Coroner Andrew Walker, after an eight-day inquest, also said he would seek prosecution of the U.S. troops responsible for the death of Terry Lloyd, a veteran reporter for British television network ITN. Walker said he would ask Britain's attorney general and director of public prosecutions "whether any steps can be taken to bring the perpetrators responsible for this to justice."
The U.S. Defense Department said in a statement that U.S. military authorities had investigated the incident and determined that the American troops "followed the applicable rules of engagement."
Although it has been "an unfortunate reality that journalists have died in Iraq," U.S. troops have "never deliberately targeted" them or other noncombatants, the statement said.
According to a videotape provided by the U.S. military and testimony from witnesses, including an ITN cameraman who was at the scene, Lloyd, 50, was killed after being caught in crossfire between U.S. and Iraqi forces near the southern Iraqi city of Basra on March 22, 2003.
The British coroner said Lloyd was shot in the back by Iraqi soldiers who had overtaken his four-wheel-drive vehicle. Lloyd then walked to a civilian minivan and was being driven away for medical treatment when U.S. forces opened fire on the van, killing Lloyd with a shot to the head, Walker concluded.
"There is no doubt that the minibus presented no threat to the American forces," Walker said. "There is no doubt it was an unlawful act of fire upon the minibus."
Adding to the fishiness is a tape of the incident shot by a US serviceman and submitted to the inquest. According to the Post, "A forensic video expert testified that about 15 minutes of the tape may have been erased before it was provided to the inquest."
Just more evidence that the US military has become just one more militia in Iraq.
Tags: news politics war Iraq Military scandal crime UK
