Region | Iraq
US military detains another cameraman
The US military arrested an Iraqi cameraman on Thursday, his family and employer said, two days after the detention of a freelance photographer working for Reuters news agency.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:20 September 5, 2008
Baghdad: The US military arrested an Iraqi cameraman on Thursday, his family and employer said, two days after the detention of a freelance photographer working for Reuters news agency.
American troops took Omar Hashem, who works for the Baghdad local television channel, and his father and two brothers from their home in the capital's Adhamiya district early yesterday.
The US military confirmed they had detained a journalist, but did not mention Hashem by name.
"Omar Hashem, his two brothers and father were arrested by American forces. Our cameraman has a coalition media pass and has worked with them before. I don't know why they arrested him now," said Riyad Arif, head of the Baghdad channel office.
Reuters television footage showed Hashem's home in disarray after his family said troops searched the property.
"Early in the morning I heard voices telling me to leave the house, to get out. We were trying to put clothes on when they broke down the door," said a tearful Um Omar, the cameraman's mother.
The US military said they had detained a journalist in operations yesterday targeting Al Qaida's bombing cells. A suspected car-bombing cell leader and three alleged associates were among 15 people arrested in the operation.
"A journalist was detained last night because he was assessed to be a threat to the security of Iraq and coalition forces. He was seized along with others suspected of a terrorist bombing network," the military said in a statement.
Hashem's detention comes just two days after the arrest of Ebrahim Jassam Mohammad, an Iraqi who has supplied photos and video to Reuters on a freelance basis for about two years. The American military said he was evaluated as a "security threat".
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