Relatives and colleagues of two Iraqi television journalists they said were killed by US gunfire were stricken with anger and grief Friday as they paid their last respects to the men in Baghdad.
Grown men wept openly and women wailed as dozens of people surrounded the coffins, draped in Iraqi flags, of Al-Arabiya cameraman Ali Abdul Aziz, 35, and journalist Ali al-Khatib, 32.
The pair were shot Thursday after US troops opened fire at their car near the Burj al-Hayat Hotel in central Baghdad, where they had gone to report on a rocket attack.
Abdul Aziz was dead on arrival at the Ibn Nafiss Hospital while Khatib lost his battle for survival early Friday. Both were hit in the head, their death certificates and autopsy reports said.
But the autopsy conducted at the Baghdad Medico-Legal Center, after a long and harrowing wait that kept relatives and family members on edge for more than eight hours, brought their anger to a head.
The report concluded that the pair had been hit by "gunfire" but did not specify the type of weapons used, triggering fury among their relatives and colleagues, who were hoping to see clear US responsibility for the deaths.
Outside the tanned-color two-storey villa that houses the Al-Arabiya offices in the residential district of Mansur, colleagues, relatives and neighbors gathered to recite prayers for the dead men and denounce the Americans.
"There is no god but Allah and the Americans are the enemy of Allah," they chanted as they wiped tears, hugged and consoled each other.
**Powel Visits Baghdad***
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell flew into Baghdad on Friday, making an unannounced visit to the occupied country. Powell's stop came as part of his recent trip to parts of Asia and the Middle East.
Powell's visit comes as South Korea canceled plans to send soldiers to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, citing U.S. pressure to participate in "offensive operations," but still plans to send the forces to help rebuild the country, the Defense Ministry said Friday, according to The AP.
Seoul's dispatch was scheduled to come as early as next month. But Friday's move means the mission might be delayed.
**PHOTO CAPTION***
Coffins with killed Iraqi journalists Ali Abdul Aziz, 35, and Ali al-Khatib, 32.