Ouda, 32, a cameraman for Al-Afaq television, was returning home from an
assignment at about 5 p.m. when he was shot in the Obaidi district of Baghdad,
according to CPJ interviews and news reports.
Station spokeswoman Bushra Abdul-Amir told Reuters that
witnesses reported seeing Ouda shot by an “American
sniper.” A witness interviewed by CPJ said that he believed Ouda was struck by
a U.S. military sniper deployed on top of a nearby communications building. The
witness spoke on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns. Al-Afaq
correspondent Tariq Maher told Reuters that the shooting occurred during
crossfire.
The U.S. military disputed the account. A military spokesman told CPJ that
U.S. forces had halted operations in the area at the time of the shooting.
“Operational reports indicate that coalition forces conducted these targeted
operations between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. After 9 a.m., our efforts changed to
conduct routine patrol of the streets of Baghdad,” U.S. Army Lt. Col. Maura A.
Gillen said in an e-mail to CPJ.