In Memoriam: Salih Saif Aldin
Very sad news today…The Washington Post’s Salih Saif Aldin, on assignment in Iraq, was shot and killed Sunday in the Baghdad neighborhood of Saidiya. This is the fist Washington Post reporter to be killed in Iraq.
From the Post:
Salih Saif Aldin, 32, was reporting on the violence that has plagued Baghdad’s Sadiyah neighborhood Sunday afternoon when he was shot in the forehead. According to residents of the neighborhood and the Iraqi military officers at the scene, he was taking photographs on a street where several houses had been burned when he was killed. His wounds appeared to indicate he was shot at close range. …
He left The Post’s Baghdad bureau Sunday afternoon in a taxi to interview residents in Sadiyah about clashes between militiamen and insurgents. A Washington Post colleague received a telephone call just after 4 p.m. from a man who said he was a police officer and who was using Saif Aldin’s cell phone. The man said he was standing next to Saif Aldin’s body, which later was observed lying on the street, covered with newspapers. …
In July 2005, he received a note threatening his life if he did not quit journalism and leave the city. He refused. “This is my city, and I’m a journalist,” he told colleagues.
Shortly after, he was attacked by two men, who beat him with their fists, a metal pipe and the butt of a pistol, leaving him with bruises all over his body and opening a gash in his head that required eight stitches. After he was released from the hospital, The Post implored him to leave Tikrit. When he refused, Omar Fekeiki, the newspaper’s former office manager and special correspondent, said he was told he would be fired if he didn’t leave.
AME/Foreign David Hoffman sent this internal email to Posties today, obtained by FishbowlDC:
Subject: Loss of an Iraqi colleague
To the newsroom,
It is with immense sadness that we report the death this afternoon of Salih Saif Aldin, 32, a highly-valued correspondent for The Washington Post in Iraq.
Salih was shot and killed Sunday in the Baghdad neighborhood of Saidiya, where he was on assignment. Details of the incident are still unclear.
Salih, who joined the Post in early 2004, was one of the most courageous and resourceful correspondents in the Baghdad Bureau.
He initially began work as a special correspondent for the Post in his hometown of Tikrit. Salih later moved to Baghdad, where he played an instrumental role in the Post’s coverage of Iraq.
Salih’s death reminds us once again of the central role that Iraqi journalists and others have played in our coverage of the war. They have often borne the risks and made the sacrifices in pursuit of truth. We grieve at Salih’s loss, and that of all journalists killed in this conflict, and salute their determination and courage.
The Washington Post extends its condolences to Salih’s family, friends and colleagues.
David E. Hoffman
AME/Foreign
Photo Credit: Karin Brulliard
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