oldier 'saw U.S tank fire on ITV team'
6th October 2006
ITN News journalist Terry Lloyd: 'Shot in the head by Americans' says British soldier
American soldiers: Not as good as British soldiers
A British soldier today told an inquest into the death of journalist Terry Lloyd he saw an US tank open fire on the ITN team's vehicles.
The soldier, thought to be a member of the special forces who was carrying out surveillance at the time, was giving evidence on the fourth day of the 50-year-old veteran broadcaster's Oxford inquest.
It is the first public acknowledgement that British forces witnessed the events of March 22, 2003, in which Mr Lloyd and his interpreter Hussein Osman died and his French cameraman Fred Nerac went missing near Basra in southern Iraq.
Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker ordered that the witness, named Soldier B, give his evidence from behind a screen to protect his identity.
Soldier B told the coroner he was 350-500 metres away when he saw three vehicles - the first understood to be that of Mr Lloyd and cameraman Daniel Demoustier; the second an Iraqi pick-up truck with a machine gun mounted on the back and the third the vehicle of Mr Nerac and Lebanese interpreter Mr Osman.
He told the coroner: "I can't say for sure who engaged first.
"My recollection is that the tank engaged the vehicles."
He said he saw an exchange of fire between the Iraqi pick-up truck and an American tank for about 30 seconds before the pick-up truck burst into flames.
He said: "Vehicle One (Mr Lloyd's vehicle) also ignited and went off to the side of the road to its right and came to rest on the side of a field, burning."
The coroner asked: "Did you see anyone leave that vehicle?"
Soldier B replied: "No."
He added: "During the engagement, two people got out of the rear vehicle from each side - the passenger and driver - and dashed about 20 metres and took cover.
"The tank continued to fire at the position where the people had taken cover. I couldn't see them but I could see it firing in that direction for a maximum of a minute.
"Once there was no further movement in the area and the threat had been taken out, the firing stopped."
The coroner asked him: "Did you see the bullets land in any other area than the area where the people (were taking cover), say near Vehicle One?"
He replied: "No I didn't witness that at all."
He said local traffic had been moving regularly up and down the road from Basra but had stopped during the firefight.
Once the firing stopped, he said he saw a green minibus appear.
He said: "It was difficult to see because of the black smoke in the area at the time. It would appear they helped people into the vehicle."
The coroner asked him: "At the time that vehicle was assisting people, was there any fire from any of the coalition positions?"
Soldier B replied: "Not that I remember."
The coroner went on: "Were there at this time any helicopters circling the area?"
He responded: "No."
Helicopter gunship
Reports following the incident suggested Mr Lloyd had been shot by a helicopter gunship as he was evacuated for medical help.
Soldier B said he reported what had happened to his superiors and was told to go and inspect the wreckage.
He went back eight hours after the gunfight, which he said took place around 8.15am to 8.30am local time.
He said he found no bodies or evidence of anyone injured in Mr Nerac's and Mr Hussein's vehicle.
In the Iraqi pick-up truck, he said, he found three charred bodies and another body - fitted with a gas mask and thought to have been the gunner - outside.
Mr Lloyd's vehicle was not mentioned.
Soldier B's evidence suggests he was working undercover near the front line, feeding information about troop movements back to his commanders.
Reports at the time indicated Mr Lloyd was first hit by an Iraqi bullet then, as he was taken away for medical treatment, hit by an American bullet.
Earlier today, the inquest heard from Nicholas Walshe, an ITN journalist asked by his company to investigate how Mr Lloyd died.
Mr Walshe, working with private investigators from security firm AKE, said he spoke to Iraqi witnesses who claimed to have been present when the journalist was shot for the second time.
Some, he said, were more believable than others, and his team were initially hampered in their progress by continued fierce fighting in the battle for Basra.
The first witness, he said, told him he found Mr Lloyd lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his back, "obviously injured".
He told Mr Walshe and his team he put him in the minibus and, on the way to the hospital, heard him say "Sahafi", meaning "journalist" in Arabic, before he died.
Another, "very credible", witness said he had driven the minibus which took Mr Lloyd to hospital. He told Mr Walshe he had been driving from Al Zubayr when his minibus was commandeered by Iraqi fighters to pick up casualties.
He said: "This particular witness ... said Terry appeared shot in the shoulder and his arm was broken.
"He had been lying in the sand between two lanes of the road and walked to the car but was too weak to get in it without help."
He said the witness told him he had a Press pass with him, which was white and issued by the Kuwaitis, but the witness did not recognise the photographs of the ITN team when he was shown them.
Distressing evidence
At this point, the Coroner asked Mr Lloyd's daughter Chelsey, who has attended the inquest throughout, whether she would like to leave the court in view of "distressing" evidence about to be heard.
Anthony Hudson, representing the family, replied: "As distressing as this is, she wants to know as much as possible."
Mr Walshe said the witness then told him: "Terry was then shot in the head by US troops while the vehicle was leaving the scene.
"He showed the hole in the vehicle where he said the bullet passed through. Two Ba'ath (Saddam Hussain's party) soldiers were also shot on the bus with the same calibre weapon."
He said the witness sold the minibus to investigators from the Royal Military Police, and provided three pieces of wood he said Mr Lloyd had lain on as he was driven away.
Another witness told Mr Walshe he had seen Mr Lloyd crouching by the side of the road and then crawling towards the minibus before he was hit by American fire. He said he still managed to get into the minibus.
He said he remembered seeing up to three helicopters above but was not sure whether Mr Lloyd was shot by one of these or by someone on the ground.
Mr Walshe added said this witness told him he was on the minibus together with two injured Iraqis - he did not know whether they were fighters or were armed.
He added: "He said that Terry was no longer alive by the time the hospital was reached."
The inquest was adjourned until Monday.
dailymail.co.uk
6th October 2006
ITN News journalist Terry Lloyd: 'Shot in the head by Americans' says British soldier
American soldiers: Not as good as British soldiers
A British soldier today told an inquest into the death of journalist Terry Lloyd he saw an US tank open fire on the ITN team's vehicles.
The soldier, thought to be a member of the special forces who was carrying out surveillance at the time, was giving evidence on the fourth day of the 50-year-old veteran broadcaster's Oxford inquest.
It is the first public acknowledgement that British forces witnessed the events of March 22, 2003, in which Mr Lloyd and his interpreter Hussein Osman died and his French cameraman Fred Nerac went missing near Basra in southern Iraq.
Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker ordered that the witness, named Soldier B, give his evidence from behind a screen to protect his identity.
Soldier B told the coroner he was 350-500 metres away when he saw three vehicles - the first understood to be that of Mr Lloyd and cameraman Daniel Demoustier; the second an Iraqi pick-up truck with a machine gun mounted on the back and the third the vehicle of Mr Nerac and Lebanese interpreter Mr Osman.
He told the coroner: "I can't say for sure who engaged first.
"My recollection is that the tank engaged the vehicles."
He said he saw an exchange of fire between the Iraqi pick-up truck and an American tank for about 30 seconds before the pick-up truck burst into flames.
He said: "Vehicle One (Mr Lloyd's vehicle) also ignited and went off to the side of the road to its right and came to rest on the side of a field, burning."
The coroner asked: "Did you see anyone leave that vehicle?"
Soldier B replied: "No."
He added: "During the engagement, two people got out of the rear vehicle from each side - the passenger and driver - and dashed about 20 metres and took cover.
"The tank continued to fire at the position where the people had taken cover. I couldn't see them but I could see it firing in that direction for a maximum of a minute.
"Once there was no further movement in the area and the threat had been taken out, the firing stopped."
The coroner asked him: "Did you see the bullets land in any other area than the area where the people (were taking cover), say near Vehicle One?"
He replied: "No I didn't witness that at all."
He said local traffic had been moving regularly up and down the road from Basra but had stopped during the firefight.
Once the firing stopped, he said he saw a green minibus appear.
He said: "It was difficult to see because of the black smoke in the area at the time. It would appear they helped people into the vehicle."
The coroner asked him: "At the time that vehicle was assisting people, was there any fire from any of the coalition positions?"
Soldier B replied: "Not that I remember."
The coroner went on: "Were there at this time any helicopters circling the area?"
He responded: "No."
Helicopter gunship
Reports following the incident suggested Mr Lloyd had been shot by a helicopter gunship as he was evacuated for medical help.
Soldier B said he reported what had happened to his superiors and was told to go and inspect the wreckage.
He went back eight hours after the gunfight, which he said took place around 8.15am to 8.30am local time.
He said he found no bodies or evidence of anyone injured in Mr Nerac's and Mr Hussein's vehicle.
In the Iraqi pick-up truck, he said, he found three charred bodies and another body - fitted with a gas mask and thought to have been the gunner - outside.
Mr Lloyd's vehicle was not mentioned.
Soldier B's evidence suggests he was working undercover near the front line, feeding information about troop movements back to his commanders.
Reports at the time indicated Mr Lloyd was first hit by an Iraqi bullet then, as he was taken away for medical treatment, hit by an American bullet.
Earlier today, the inquest heard from Nicholas Walshe, an ITN journalist asked by his company to investigate how Mr Lloyd died.
Mr Walshe, working with private investigators from security firm AKE, said he spoke to Iraqi witnesses who claimed to have been present when the journalist was shot for the second time.
Some, he said, were more believable than others, and his team were initially hampered in their progress by continued fierce fighting in the battle for Basra.
The first witness, he said, told him he found Mr Lloyd lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his back, "obviously injured".
He told Mr Walshe and his team he put him in the minibus and, on the way to the hospital, heard him say "Sahafi", meaning "journalist" in Arabic, before he died.
Another, "very credible", witness said he had driven the minibus which took Mr Lloyd to hospital. He told Mr Walshe he had been driving from Al Zubayr when his minibus was commandeered by Iraqi fighters to pick up casualties.
He said: "This particular witness ... said Terry appeared shot in the shoulder and his arm was broken.
"He had been lying in the sand between two lanes of the road and walked to the car but was too weak to get in it without help."
He said the witness told him he had a Press pass with him, which was white and issued by the Kuwaitis, but the witness did not recognise the photographs of the ITN team when he was shown them.
Distressing evidence
At this point, the Coroner asked Mr Lloyd's daughter Chelsey, who has attended the inquest throughout, whether she would like to leave the court in view of "distressing" evidence about to be heard.
Anthony Hudson, representing the family, replied: "As distressing as this is, she wants to know as much as possible."
Mr Walshe said the witness then told him: "Terry was then shot in the head by US troops while the vehicle was leaving the scene.
"He showed the hole in the vehicle where he said the bullet passed through. Two Ba'ath (Saddam Hussain's party) soldiers were also shot on the bus with the same calibre weapon."
He said the witness sold the minibus to investigators from the Royal Military Police, and provided three pieces of wood he said Mr Lloyd had lain on as he was driven away.
Another witness told Mr Walshe he had seen Mr Lloyd crouching by the side of the road and then crawling towards the minibus before he was hit by American fire. He said he still managed to get into the minibus.
He said he remembered seeing up to three helicopters above but was not sure whether Mr Lloyd was shot by one of these or by someone on the ground.
Mr Walshe added said this witness told him he was on the minibus together with two injured Iraqis - he did not know whether they were fighters or were armed.
He added: "He said that Terry was no longer alive by the time the hospital was reached."
The inquest was adjourned until Monday.
dailymail.co.uk