05:53Jordan: ‘Journalists who had nothing to do with this war paid the price’ - Widow of journo killed by US forces in Baghdad talks about her loss 20 years later
Jordanian journalist and Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub was killed in Baghdad in April 2003, only few seconds after giving a live report, when an airstrike by US forces hit Al Jazeera’s bureau in the Iraqi capital.
Earlier on February Ruptly interviewed Dima Tahboub, widow of Ayoub, and Hassan al– Shobaki, Director of Al Jazeera Office in Amman, in the run-up to the twentieth anniversary of the US military intervention on Iraq.
“During his stay in Baghdad for 4 or 5 days, he made three reports, and for me, each report was a reassurance of his good health and safety,” said Dima Tahboub, claiming that “Al-Jazeera Television Network sent the coordinates of its Baghdad bureau to the US troops, to ensure the safety of the correspondents and journalists while fulfilling their work and assert that they are not part of the war.”
On April 8, 2003, three locations housing journalists in Baghdad were targeted by US armed forces, killing three journalists and wounding four. In all of these incidents, US forces behind the attacks were not prosecuted, with the ‘Rules of Engagement’ cited as the main reason.
“There were comments from US presidents describing the civilian casualties as 'collateral damage', something inevitable considering their fragile and false slogan to liberate Baghdad or Iraq from terrorism. Whereas they were the real terrorists who brought terrorism, killed civilians and journalists who, according to all accords and pacts, are not part of any war; they are simply reporting the truth and the events,” added Tahboub.
US Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks commented on the Al Jazeera attack at a briefing in Doha, Qatar, when it happened, saying that 'this coalition does not target journalists. We don't know every place journalists are operating on the battlefield. It's a dangerous place indeed.'
At least 150 journalists and 54 support workers were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
“The most complicated and controversial issue is impunity. The culprit remains unpunished, and the offenders evade punishment because there is no punishment in the first place,” explained Hassan al– Shobaki, Director of Al Jazeera Office in Amman.
“Of course, several complaints and files have been submitted to the International Criminal Court in this regard. The press institutions are following this up, but most of the complaints regarding the crimes against civilians, journalists and civil society institutions perpetrated by the world superpowers, especially those waging wars in here or in other regions, were dropped, thus they remained unpunished. How can those who plotted this crime to be punished?”
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army on the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).
05:53Jordanian journalist and Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub was killed in Baghdad in April 2003, only few seconds after giving a live report, when an airstrike by US forces hit Al Jazeera’s bureau in the Iraqi capital.
Earlier on February Ruptly interviewed Dima Tahboub, widow of Ayoub, and Hassan al– Shobaki, Director of Al Jazeera Office in Amman, in the run-up to the twentieth anniversary of the US military intervention on Iraq.
“During his stay in Baghdad for 4 or 5 days, he made three reports, and for me, each report was a reassurance of his good health and safety,” said Dima Tahboub, claiming that “Al-Jazeera Television Network sent the coordinates of its Baghdad bureau to the US troops, to ensure the safety of the correspondents and journalists while fulfilling their work and assert that they are not part of the war.”
On April 8, 2003, three locations housing journalists in Baghdad were targeted by US armed forces, killing three journalists and wounding four. In all of these incidents, US forces behind the attacks were not prosecuted, with the ‘Rules of Engagement’ cited as the main reason.
“There were comments from US presidents describing the civilian casualties as 'collateral damage', something inevitable considering their fragile and false slogan to liberate Baghdad or Iraq from terrorism. Whereas they were the real terrorists who brought terrorism, killed civilians and journalists who, according to all accords and pacts, are not part of any war; they are simply reporting the truth and the events,” added Tahboub.
US Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks commented on the Al Jazeera attack at a briefing in Doha, Qatar, when it happened, saying that 'this coalition does not target journalists. We don't know every place journalists are operating on the battlefield. It's a dangerous place indeed.'
At least 150 journalists and 54 support workers were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
“The most complicated and controversial issue is impunity. The culprit remains unpunished, and the offenders evade punishment because there is no punishment in the first place,” explained Hassan al– Shobaki, Director of Al Jazeera Office in Amman.
“Of course, several complaints and files have been submitted to the International Criminal Court in this regard. The press institutions are following this up, but most of the complaints regarding the crimes against civilians, journalists and civil society institutions perpetrated by the world superpowers, especially those waging wars in here or in other regions, were dropped, thus they remained unpunished. How can those who plotted this crime to be punished?”
On March 19, 2003, Washington, along with coalition forces, launched a military offensive on Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s presumed weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos, resulting in the violent deaths of around 200,000 civilians, according to the Iraq Body Count project, although there are other estimations that increase or decrease this figure.
This was preceded by a series of developments that eventually led to the US deploying its army on the Arab country. On January 28, George Bush addressed the nation making it clear that the US military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein was only a matter of time.
The US officially withdrew its troops from Iraq by December 2011, but thousands remained as part of security operations or serving as private military contractors. The aftermath of the intervention in the country triggered widespread violence and was linked to the rise of the Islamic State (IS).