Saeed Chmagh
Encyclopedia
Saeed Chmagh (January 1, 1967 – July 12, 2007) was an Iraq
i employed by Reuters
news agency
as a driver and camera assistant. He was killed, along with his colleague Namir Noor-Eldeen
by American military forces in the New Baghdad
district of Baghdad, Iraq, during an airstrike on July 12, 2007
.
before the United States-led invasion in 2003. With 4 children of his own, he financially supported his family and another three through his work. Chmagh also supported his sister’s family after insurgents killed her husband.
Chris Helgren, then Reuters' chief photographer in the region, launched a plan to employ and train Iraqis, with more local knowledge and access to areas now perilous for Westerners. Helgren said: "There are few 'good news' stories to be had in this war and wars by definition are tales of violence. And to get there, drivers like Saeed Chmagh are indispensable.” "Saeed had a reputation of being fiercely loyal and appeared fearless to me. If you ever needed to get quickly to a dangerous area, passing chicanes of barbed wire and boobytraps, Saeed was your man. But he also had a very quiet, loving side and spoke often of his kids."
helicopters observed a group of people milling around on a street in Baghdad. Believing the group to be armed Iraqi insurgents, the Apache fired on them. About 5 minutes later an unmarked black van arrived, owned by a man who was taking his son to school. Two other men who had also come along assisted Chmagh, who was badly wounded and pulling himself along the ground, and carried him to the van. The watching helicopter crews requested and received permission to engage, and opened fire on the van and its occupants. Two young children in the van were severely wounded by the shooting. Chmagh, and Reuters photojournalist, his long time friend Namir Noor-Eldeen, were among those killed in the attacks. Chmagh was 40 years old at the time of his death. Chmagh and Noor-Eldeen were the fifth and sixth Reuters employees killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion began. The Army's report includes pictures of what are claimed to be weapons found near the bodies at the scene. After their deaths, Reuters screened a photographic tribute to Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh in New York City's Times Square and London's Canary Wharf. The shootings, Chmaghs death, and Noor-Eldeen's death are detailed in The Good Soldiers, a 2009 non-fiction book by David Finkel
.
For more than three years after the shooting, Reuters and other organizations sought probes into the deaths of Noor-Eldeen and other journalists killed in Iraq, but the U.S. military withheld key information on the grounds that it was classified. The military also refused to release a video taken from one of the gunships that captured the complete sequence and radio communication during the shootings. On April 5, 2010, the video was released on the website Wikileaks
, which said it acquired the video from military whistle-blowers and viewed it after breaking the encryption code.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i employed by Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
as a driver and camera assistant. He was killed, along with his colleague Namir Noor-Eldeen
Namir Noor-Eldeen
Namir Noor-Eldeen was an Iraqi freelance photojournalist. He was killed, along with his assistant Saeed Chmagh and a number of others, by American military forces in the New Baghdad district of Baghdad, Iraq, during an airstrike on July 12, 2007.- Early life and career :Noor-Eldeen was born on...
by American military forces in the New Baghdad
New Baghdad
New Baghdad or Baghdad Al-Jidida is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad, Iraq. This district has nine Neighborhood Advisory Councils and a District Advisory Council. It is located east of the city center...
district of Baghdad, Iraq, during an airstrike on July 12, 2007
July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike
The July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikes were a series of air-to-ground attacks conducted by a team of two United States Army AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, in the district of New Baghdad in Baghdad, during the insurgency that followed the Iraq War.In the first strike "Crazyhorse 1/8"...
.
Life and career
Chmagh was born January 1, 1967 in Iraq. He joined ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
before the United States-led invasion in 2003. With 4 children of his own, he financially supported his family and another three through his work. Chmagh also supported his sister’s family after insurgents killed her husband.
Chris Helgren, then Reuters' chief photographer in the region, launched a plan to employ and train Iraqis, with more local knowledge and access to areas now perilous for Westerners. Helgren said: "There are few 'good news' stories to be had in this war and wars by definition are tales of violence. And to get there, drivers like Saeed Chmagh are indispensable.” "Saeed had a reputation of being fiercely loyal and appeared fearless to me. If you ever needed to get quickly to a dangerous area, passing chicanes of barbed wire and boobytraps, Saeed was your man. But he also had a very quiet, loving side and spoke often of his kids."
Airstrike and death
On July 12, 2007, after several skirmishes in the area, two American AH-64 ApacheAH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
helicopters observed a group of people milling around on a street in Baghdad. Believing the group to be armed Iraqi insurgents, the Apache fired on them. About 5 minutes later an unmarked black van arrived, owned by a man who was taking his son to school. Two other men who had also come along assisted Chmagh, who was badly wounded and pulling himself along the ground, and carried him to the van. The watching helicopter crews requested and received permission to engage, and opened fire on the van and its occupants. Two young children in the van were severely wounded by the shooting. Chmagh, and Reuters photojournalist, his long time friend Namir Noor-Eldeen, were among those killed in the attacks. Chmagh was 40 years old at the time of his death. Chmagh and Noor-Eldeen were the fifth and sixth Reuters employees killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion began. The Army's report includes pictures of what are claimed to be weapons found near the bodies at the scene. After their deaths, Reuters screened a photographic tribute to Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh in New York City's Times Square and London's Canary Wharf. The shootings, Chmaghs death, and Noor-Eldeen's death are detailed in The Good Soldiers, a 2009 non-fiction book by David Finkel
David Finkel
David Louis Finkel is an American journalist. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 as a staff writer at the Washington Post. He is currently assigned to the national staff as an enterprise reporter. He has also worked for the Post's foreign staff division...
.
Video release
- See also: Leaked video footage at July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike
For more than three years after the shooting, Reuters and other organizations sought probes into the deaths of Noor-Eldeen and other journalists killed in Iraq, but the U.S. military withheld key information on the grounds that it was classified. The military also refused to release a video taken from one of the gunships that captured the complete sequence and radio communication during the shootings. On April 5, 2010, the video was released on the website Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
, which said it acquired the video from military whistle-blowers and viewed it after breaking the encryption code.
External links
- Collateral Murder - Wikileaks-owned alternate site, includes full footage of the video as originally released
- Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...