US says troops acted properly in Iraq hotel attack

American troops acted properly in self-defence when they fired a tank round into the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, accidentally killing a Reuters TV cameraman and another journalist, the United States Central Command said yesterday.

The command said an investigation of the April 8 incident found that a company of soldiers determined that an Iraqi "hunter-killer" team was using a spotter in the hotel to fire at them and was well within the rules of military engagement in responding. "A company was under heavy enemy attack," the command said.

The round hit a 15th-floor balcony used by Reuters in the 17-storey Palestine hotel. The agency's Ukraine-born cameraman, Taras Protsyuk, was wounded and died on arrival at a Baghdad hospital.

Debris hit the floor below, where Spanish cameraman, Jose Couso of Telecinco, was killed.

Herald Feature: Iraq