TIME photojournalist Nachtwey, correspondent Weisskopf, injured in grenade attack in Baghdad
TIME magazine photography editor Jim Colburn said today from Washington, DC, that "a couple of TIME correspondents got in to see both of them Thursday in Baghdad and they have talked with them. They've both got injuries that are being worked on, but they're both awake and they're rather pissed off that they got attacked." Colburn says he was told Nachtwey and Weisskopf were both stable and "in good spirits."
James Nachtwey
New York (December 12, 2003) -- TIME managing editor Jim Kelly reports that TIME contributing photojournalist James Nachtwey, 55, along with senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf, 57, were injured Wednesday in Baghdad, Iraq, when a grenade was thrown into the interior of the Humvee they were riding in while on patrol with the Army's 1st Armored Division. Published reports today say Weisskopf lost his right hand as he picked up the grenade and was tossing it back out when it exploded.
Colburn said the two journalists were riding in the first part of a two-part Humvee convoy when the attack took place. Editor Kelly said the ambush came around 9:30 pm Iraqi time Wednesday while the journalists were traveling on patrol with U.S. military personnel and that the identity of the attackers is not known. The two soldiers in the vehicle were also injured, but the extent of their injuries and identities are not known.
Michael Weisskopf
Today's Washington Post, where Weisskopf worked as a reporter for two decades, quotes the journalist's wife, Judith Katz, as saying that Weisskopf picked up the grenade when it was tossed into the Humvee and that he was in the process of quickly throwing it back out when it exploded. The story says Weisskopf lost his right hand in the blast, but that he likely saved the lives of all four people in the vehicle by his quick response.
According to Colburn, Nachtwey and Weisskopf are in stable condition and in military care in Iraq and are awaiting transfer to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. "We don't know if they're going to stay in Germany or go to some other place for treatment yet," Colburn said.
Nachtwey is an award-winning photographer known for his coverage of war and conflict. He was an award winner in the NPPA's Best Of Photojournalism 2003 contest in magazine feature stories, and this year he shared the $1 million Dan David prize for documenting "the apocalyptic events of our time." He was also the subject of a 2001 Oscar-nominated documentary, "War Photographer," directed and produced by Christian Frei.
Weisskopf is an award-winning correspondent based in Washington who covers politics for TIME. He was a finalist in the 1996 Pulitzer Prizes for national reporting.
- Editor