As Powell walked into a press conference in Baghdad today, an Arab journalist stood to read a statement of protest for the killing by American troops of two Iraqi journalists, cameraman Ali Abdul Aziz and reporter Ali al-Khatib at a checkpoint yesterday.<\/p>\n
“We declare our boycott of the conference because of the martyrs,” Najim al-Rubaie of Iraq’s Distor newspaper said<\/a> in a statement read at the start of the news conference as Powell and Iraq’s U.S. governor Paul Bremer looked on.<\/p>\n
“We declare our condemnation of the incident which led to the killing of the two journalists…who were killed at the hands of the American forces.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Cameraman Ali Abdul Aziz and reporter Ali al-Khatib had approached American troops at the checkpoint and secured permission to film at the Burj al-Hayat hotel, scene of a rocket attack.<\/p>\n
“My brother had asked US forces if they could film the Burj al-Hayat hotel and they told him it was fine. Moments later, a Volvo did not stop at the checkpoint and the soldiers opened fire,” said the cameraman’s brother Haidar Abdel Aziz.<\/a><\/p>\n
“My brother and his colleague wanted to leave, they ran to their car and an armoured vehicle opened fire on them.”<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
An American military spokesman claimed the journalists had “tried to run the checkpoint.”<\/p>\n
After the statement was read, more than 30 Arab journalists stood and walked out of the conference.<\/a><\/p>\n
“I also regret the loss of life, the two journalists that they commemorated here by their action, I regret any loss of life<\/i>,” Mr Powell told the remaining reporters.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n