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Journalists Kidnapped in Iraq

CBS photographer, translator snatched from Basra hotel

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 11, 2008 4:30 PM CST
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(Newser) – A CBS photographer and translator have been kidnapped in Iraq, reports the Italian news agency ADN Kronos. Richard Butler, a Briton whose work has appeared in Newsweek and Time, and an Iraqi co-worker were forced out of their Basra hotel and into a car by a group of armed men, a police source said. A hotel employee told AFP about 10 men abducted the journalists.

CBS issued a statement saying two journalists are "missing" but did not identify them. The network said: "All efforts are under way to find them and until we learn more details CBS News requests that others do not speculate on the identities of those involved." Basra was under the control of British coalition troops until late last year; the US has no military presence in the city, the LA Times reports.

The new Iraqi flag is displayed at a market in Basra, Iraq, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2008.
The new Iraqi flag is displayed at a market in Basra, Iraq, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2008.   (Associated Press)
A man holds up a weapon as protesters walk past him in Basra, Iraq, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. A British photographer employed by US television network, CBS has been kidnapped in Basra, Iraq. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
A man holds up a weapon as protesters walk past him in Basra, Iraq, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. A British photographer employed by US television network, CBS...   (Associated Press)
Basra is highlighted on this map of Iraq.
Basra is highlighted on this map of Iraq.   (Public Domain)
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The constant danger of kidnapping
Radio Free Netherlands

Butler's website
Richard Butler Photojournalist

Statistics on journalist abductions in Iraq
Committee to Protect Journalists

 
Iraq • kidnapping • Basra • journalist • Richard Butler

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