Khaled, 35, a soundman for Reuters, was shot by U.S. forces several times in the head and chest as he drove with cameraman Haidar Kadhem to investigate a report of clashes between armed men and police in Baghdad’s Hay al-Adil district, Reuters reported.
Reuters quoted an Iraqi police report as saying, “A team from Reuters news agency was on assignment to cover the killing of two policemen in Hay al-Adil; U.S. forces opened fire on the team from Reuters and killed Waleed Khaled, who was shot in the head, and wounded Haider Kadhem.”
Kadhem, the only known eyewitness, was wounded and was held by U.S. forces at an undisclosed location for three days. Kadhem told reporters at the scene that he heard gunfire and saw a U.S. sniper on the roof of a nearby shopping center. Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said Kadhem was detained “due to inconsistencies in his story.”