vrijdag, april 11, 2003
An American photographer escaped an attempt by two Iraqi fighters to kill him near the northern oil city of Kirkuk.
Photographer Richard Sennot and reporter Paul McEnroe went to the oil refinery near Kirkuk after the city fell to Kurdish fighters Thursday. The Iraqi Army had fled, but up to 50 die-hards from the Fedayeen Saddam militia had decided to fight on at the refinery. After hiding throughout the afternoon in a bunker mostly shielded by smoke from a burning oil well, two fighters decided to take their death ride and attack Sennot and his colleague. They jumped into a troop truck filled with weapons. Six local Kurdish militiamen, alerted to the pro-Saddam fighters minutes earlier, ran down the road and encircled the truck with rifles raised.
The driver jumped out with a grenade in his right hand, and common sense began to unravel. "Just let me go - I won't kill you, I want to kill the Americans," the fighter yelled as he walked toward one of the backpedaling Kurdish militiamen who had encircled him. "I'm Saddam's Fedayeen." A warning shot was fired. "Leave me to the Americans," he screamed, ignoring the shot.
"Kill him! Kill him! Get it over with, get rid of him," screamed Sabir Abdul Rahan, one of the militiamen. His urging was ignored. The Fedayeen fighter kept walking, and a militiaman grabbed for the soldier's hands, trying to clamp down on them so he couldn't let go of the grenade's firing hammer. They wrestled for about a minute while the others stood by. The soldier broke free, grenade still in his hand. He ran toward the reporter and photographer, who fled. The soldier then veered into a field and disappeared into high grass.
The remaining Fedayeen soldier, sitting on the passenger side of the truck, was shot by a militiaman and yanked to the ground and searched in case he had a hidden bomb. The Americans had returned, and the wounded Fedayeen soldier stared up at the men he and his partner had tried to kill. A Militiaman was quoted as saying the fighter knew the journalists were Americans because he was hiding so close he could hear them speaking English. The dying Iraqi fighter looked at the two Americans, his intended victims .He stretched out his hand, asking for help, and died.
Bron: Star Tribune.
Photographer Richard Sennot and reporter Paul McEnroe went to the oil refinery near Kirkuk after the city fell to Kurdish fighters Thursday. The Iraqi Army had fled, but up to 50 die-hards from the Fedayeen Saddam militia had decided to fight on at the refinery. After hiding throughout the afternoon in a bunker mostly shielded by smoke from a burning oil well, two fighters decided to take their death ride and attack Sennot and his colleague. They jumped into a troop truck filled with weapons. Six local Kurdish militiamen, alerted to the pro-Saddam fighters minutes earlier, ran down the road and encircled the truck with rifles raised.
The driver jumped out with a grenade in his right hand, and common sense began to unravel. "Just let me go - I won't kill you, I want to kill the Americans," the fighter yelled as he walked toward one of the backpedaling Kurdish militiamen who had encircled him. "I'm Saddam's Fedayeen." A warning shot was fired. "Leave me to the Americans," he screamed, ignoring the shot.
"Kill him! Kill him! Get it over with, get rid of him," screamed Sabir Abdul Rahan, one of the militiamen. His urging was ignored. The Fedayeen fighter kept walking, and a militiaman grabbed for the soldier's hands, trying to clamp down on them so he couldn't let go of the grenade's firing hammer. They wrestled for about a minute while the others stood by. The soldier broke free, grenade still in his hand. He ran toward the reporter and photographer, who fled. The soldier then veered into a field and disappeared into high grass.
The remaining Fedayeen soldier, sitting on the passenger side of the truck, was shot by a militiaman and yanked to the ground and searched in case he had a hidden bomb. The Americans had returned, and the wounded Fedayeen soldier stared up at the men he and his partner had tried to kill. A Militiaman was quoted as saying the fighter knew the journalists were Americans because he was hiding so close he could hear them speaking English. The dying Iraqi fighter looked at the two Americans, his intended victims .He stretched out his hand, asking for help, and died.
Bron: Star Tribune.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 19:21
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