seruriermarshal
05-28-2004, 03:20 AM
Two Japanese journalists believed to have been attacked near Baghdad(allegedly,1 dead,1 wounded)
Two Japanese journalists believed to have been attacked near Baghdad
Thu May 27, 8:45 PM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's foreign ministry said it was checking information that two Japanese journalists had been attacked south of Baghdad as news reports said one of them had been killed in drive-by shooting.
An Iraqi man visited the Japanese embassy in Iraq (news - web sites) late Thursday, saying the vehicle his nephew was driving with two Japanese acquaintances aboard was attacked in al Mahmudiyah some 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Baghdad, the ministry said.
"After the driver escaped, the vehicle exploded and caught fire," the ministry said in a statement, adding the Iraqi man told the uncle about the attack while he was hospitalised for injuries.
The Japanese embassy sent officials to the hospital to meet the Iraqi driver.
According to information the driver has, the two are Shinsuke Hashida, a 61-year-old freelance journalist based in Bangkok, and Kotaro Ogawa, 33, from the western Japanese city of Tottori, the ministry said.
"It is unknown whether both are unhurt," it said.
Public network Japan Broadcasting Corp. said the driver had told Japanese officials that one of the two Japanese nationals died and the other was injured.
The vehicle was heading to Baghdad from the southern town of Samawa where Japanese troops are based, with four people on board -- the two Japanese, the Iraqi driver and an Iraqi translator.
In November last year, two Japanese diplomats were gunned down in Iraq en route to a reconstruction conference.
The foreign ministry said in a report this month that terrorists were probably responsible.
The killings shocked the nation and marked the first Japanese casualties in Iraq since the US-led invasion began last March.
Two Japanese journalists believed to have been attacked near Baghdad
Thu May 27, 8:45 PM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's foreign ministry said it was checking information that two Japanese journalists had been attacked south of Baghdad as news reports said one of them had been killed in drive-by shooting.
An Iraqi man visited the Japanese embassy in Iraq (news - web sites) late Thursday, saying the vehicle his nephew was driving with two Japanese acquaintances aboard was attacked in al Mahmudiyah some 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Baghdad, the ministry said.
"After the driver escaped, the vehicle exploded and caught fire," the ministry said in a statement, adding the Iraqi man told the uncle about the attack while he was hospitalised for injuries.
The Japanese embassy sent officials to the hospital to meet the Iraqi driver.
According to information the driver has, the two are Shinsuke Hashida, a 61-year-old freelance journalist based in Bangkok, and Kotaro Ogawa, 33, from the western Japanese city of Tottori, the ministry said.
"It is unknown whether both are unhurt," it said.
Public network Japan Broadcasting Corp. said the driver had told Japanese officials that one of the two Japanese nationals died and the other was injured.
The vehicle was heading to Baghdad from the southern town of Samawa where Japanese troops are based, with four people on board -- the two Japanese, the Iraqi driver and an Iraqi translator.
In November last year, two Japanese diplomats were gunned down in Iraq en route to a reconstruction conference.
The foreign ministry said in a report this month that terrorists were probably responsible.
The killings shocked the nation and marked the first Japanese casualties in Iraq since the US-led invasion began last March.