Killed in Iraq: ABC Loses Two Journalists

May 18, 2007— -- ABC News was devastated this week by the kidnapping and subsequent killings of two of its employees in Baghdad. Details surrounding the killings of cameraman Alaa Uldeen Aziz and soundman Saif Laith Yousuf are not entirely clear but they bear the markings of the sectarian violence ravaging Iraq today.

Aziz and Yousuf left the ABC News Baghdad bureau in Yousuf's car with another colleague after work on Thursday. Driving through Baghdad involves navigating an obstacle course of choking traffic jams, hurrying pedestrians, military blockades, police checkpoints and countless deadly threats.

The three men made it to their first destination and the first passenger made it home safely. As they approached Aziz's home, witnesses at the scene say a car pulled in front of them, blocking the way. Before Aziz and Yousuf could react, a second vehicle arrived and gunmen poured out, surrounding the journalists' car and ordering them onto the street.

Neighbors describe a bold and violent confrontation where the gunmen were threatening witnesses while assaulting the two men. Aziz and Yousuf were taken away in separate vehicles.

ABC's Baghdad bureau learned about the kidnapping several hours later, when a family member contacted the bureau to say neither man had arrived at home. ABC employees tried calling Aziz's cell phone, which appeared to be off. When Yousuf's phone rang, however, an unidentified man answered. He did not reveal who he was or where the men had been taken, but said they would be sent home safely.

It was a promise that did not come true. Friday morning the families of Aziz and Yousuf identified both men in a city morgue. Aziz and Yousuf had been beaten and shot to death.

Cameramen and soundmen are by nature unsung heroes. Aziz and Yousuf were especially invaluable as Iraqi employees who filled multiple roles in the war zone.

"They are really our eyes and ears in Iraq," ABC Baghdad correspondent Terry McCarthy said. "Many places in Baghdad are just too dangerous for foreigners to go now, so we have Iraqi camera crews who very bravely go out. Without them, we are blind. We cannot see what's going on."

Aziz, a 33-year-old father of two girls aged 10 and 4, was a gregarious presence. In his two years working for ABC News he became famous for his jokes and positive attitude even in the most dangerous circumstances. He had an outsized sense of humor.