Gunmen fire on funeral of Al-Arabiya newswoman
Gunmen fired today on the funeral procession of a well known Al-Arabiya newswoman, who was killed while covering the bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine, sending mourners dashing for cover, police and army said.
At least three people were injured.
About 150 mourners, including many journalists, were walking through Baghdad’s western Abu Ghraib area when the attack happened, reported an Al-Arabiya television correspondent, who sought sanctuary in a farmer’s house.
“We appeal that we are at a funeral ceremony, we are normal people,” correspondent Diaa al-Nasiri said in his live report.
Security forces returned fire, and the army sent 60 more soldiers to the scene, said Iraqi army Captain Jassim al-Wahish.
The attack happened near the residence of Harith al-Dhari, head of the influential Sunni clerical Association of Muslim Scholars, whose guards joined in the fray.
At least two police commandos and one civilian were injured in the exchange, said police Maj. Falah al-Mohamdawi.
Al-Arabiya correspondent Atwar Bahjat, a Sunni, was gunned down on Wednesday with two colleagues on the outskirts of Samarra, where they were covering the bombing of the Shiite Askariya shrine.
The destruction of the shrine’s famed golden dome unleashed a torrent of sectarian violence that killed more than 140 people.
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