Lloyd death: ITN names US troops

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The names of 16 US marines who were present when journalist Terry Lloyd was unlawfully killed in southern Iraq have been revealed by his employer.

ITN said that one of the named men "almost certainly" fired the shot that killed him in March 2003.

A coroner ruled in 2006 that Mr Lloyd, 50, was unlawfully killed by troops and called for charges against them.

As a tribute to him the company has launched a campaign to create a new crime of wilfully killing a journalist.

Cleared

At an inquest in October 2006, the coroner said that the troops shot Mr Lloyd in the head while he was in a makeshift ambulance, having already been hurt in crossfire.

Mr Lloyd's interpreter Hussein Osman was also killed and his cameraman Fred Nerac is missing, believed dead, following the shooting - which took place near Basra on 22 March 2003.

ITN revealed the names of 16 members of red platoon Delta company, who were in four tanks. The names were provided by "a marine source".

Second Lieutenant Matthew Ufford was the commander of White platoon, whose tanks arrived ten minutes after the shooting.

He told ITN: "I believe that Terry's death is an example of one of the sad accidents that happen in the chaos of war, not the result of careless or irresponsible troops, because I knew no such men in Delta company."

International crime

The marines were cleared by an internal American inquiry but the corner has called on the attorney general to extradite the soldiers involved in the case, a call backed by the families of Mr Lloyd and Mr Nerac.

Mr Nerac's body was never found and his widow wants the marines to tell her what happened to her husband.

Fabienne Nerac told ITN: "Today we still have no certainty about what happened so I want them to know that and to help us, the family."

As a tribute to Mr Lloyd, Mr Osman, Mr Nerac and other journalists who have died in war zones, ITN is campaigning for a specific international crime of killing a journalist.

The company argues that it would help to deter soldiers from killing journalists and emphasise the unique role played by war correspondents.

The new law could be included in the Rome statute of 1998, which set up the international criminal court.

Paul McLaughlin, broadcasting organiser of the National Union of Journalists, said: "We welcome the move to put the names in the public domain.

"It's an important step forwards as we seek to bring Terry Lloyd's killers to justice."

He added: "The targeting of journalists must be recognised as a crime internationally.

"Unfortunately thus far the US has shown contempt for the British justice system.

"The British government must insist that the US co-operate by extraditing the soldiers involved in this case."