Bakri, a director and news producer for the local television station, Al-Sharqiyah, was killed by gunfire as he approached U.S. troops, according to Ali Hanoon, a station director. Hanoon said Bakri was driving from work to his in-laws’ home in southern Baghdad at the time.
U.S. soldiers fired at the car 15 times, and Bakri died later at Yarmouk Hospital, Hanoon said. The Associated Press, citing another colleague and a doctor who treated the journalist, reported that Bakri failed to pull over for a U.S. convoy while trying to pass a traffic accident.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad issued a statement of condolence to the family and the station, the BBC reported.