April 8 , 2003 journalist deaths by U . S . fire On April 8 , 2003 , three locations in Baghdad housing journalists were fired upon by U . S . armed forces during 2003 invasion of Iraq , killing three journalists and wounding four . Al Jazeera ' s office . Two American air - to - surface missile s hit the Qatar satellite TV station at Al Jazeera ' s office in Baghdad and killed Tareq Ayyoub , a Palestinian reporter , and wounded Zouhair al - Iraqi , an Iraqi cameraman . They were live broadcasting on the roof of the building . Al Jazeera accused the U . S . of intentionally targeting Al Jazeera as the U . S . bombed its Kabul bureau in 2001 during the U . S . invasion of Afghanistan . Palestine Hotel . A U . S . Army tank fired into the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad , where almost all foreign journalists were based . The image of the hotel had been frequently broadcast in the news , since many journalists filmed their reports nearby . The tank fire killed the Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and wounded three . José Couso of Telecinco Spanish television who was on the 14th floor also died . At the time , Company A of the 4th Battalion , 64th Armored Regiment was holding the west end of the al - Jumhuria Bridge . The U . S . Forces were under attack from Iraqi units on both sides of the Tigris River , including mortar fire . Earlier that morning , the battalion had captured an Iraqi two - way radio , over which they heard an Iraqi forward observer directing mortar fire against Company A . This information was relayed to the forces at the bridge , who began looking for the enemy spotter . An A - Company tank spotted an individual on a balcony on the upper floor of a high - rise building to the southeast who appeared to be observing the company with " some kind of optics " ( probably Protsyuk ) . Assuming this was the enemy spotter , the tank commander asked for and received permission to fire . The tank fired a HEAT round at the balcony , killing Protsyuk and Couso . Prior to the incident , no one in the 4 - 64 had been briefed about the Palestine Hotel or its location , since the hotel was not in their sector ( the east bank of the Tigris was allocated to the 1st Marine Division ) . U . S . forces later determined that the Iraqi artillery spotter was probably in a nearby building , not the hotel . AFP reported there was no fire aimed at the tank , based on picture taken by a French TV station . Journalists on the scene also testified there was no fire from or around the hotel . General Buford Blount , commander of the 3rd Infantry Division , said it was a response to Iraqi fire from the hotel . The French TV showed the tank ' s gun aimed at the hotel for at least two minutes before it fired . The M1 Abrams ' optics are slaved to the main gun barrel , so it would have been pointed at the hotel while the crew located and observed the presumed forward observer . On that day , the Spanish government decided to demand an explanation from the U . S . In 2008 , Sgt . Adrienne Kinne , a former Arabic linguist in U . S . Army Intelligence , reported that she had seen secret documents listing the Palestine Hotel as a possible military target prior to the 2003 shelling incident . Abu Dhabi ' s office . Office of the United Arab Emirates satellite channel Abu Dhabi was hit by air strike s . The station aired the picture of Iraqi fire from beneath the camera . Responses to the three in general . Pentagon During a briefing from The Pentagon on April 8 , a reporter asked " ( . . . ) There are reports that a tank took small arms and perhaps R . P . G . fire from the direction of the hotel , although journalists say that they saw no sign of it . Do you think that ' s reason enough for a tank to fire a round at the hotel where you know there are unarmed journalists ? " Major General Stanley McChrystal answered " ( . . . ) particularly with this war , journalists have been closer to coalition soldiers than probably ever before with the embedded program , and those who are not . ( . . . ) When [ forces ] get into combat in the cities , which , from the beginning , we had specifically said would be dangerous and difficult , you put yourself in their position , they had the inherent right of self - defense . When they are fired at , they have not only the right to respond , they have the obligation to respond to protect the soldiers with them and to accomplish the mission at large ( . . . ) . " U . S . Central Command At a briefing in Doha , Qatar , Brigadier General Vincent K . Brooks said of the Al Jazeera attack , " This coalition does not target journalists . We don ' t know every place journalists are operating on the battlefield . It ' s a dangerous place indeed . " Governments On March 8 , Spanish and Portuguese governments insisted that all the journalists of the countries evacuate from Baghdad . Journalist and civil organizations Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to demand investigation . Reporters Without Borders demanded proof from Donald Rumsfeld that the incidents " were not deliberate attempts to dissuade the media from reporting . " Amnesty International demanded independent investigation . Report of Committee to Protect Journalists . On May 27 , 2003 , the Committee to Protect Journalists ( CPJ ) published a report of their investigation into the tank shelling of the Palestine Hotel on April 8 , 2003 . After interviewing " about a dozen reporters who were at the scene , including two embedded journalists who monitored the military radio traffic before and after the shelling occurred " the CPJ determined that the facts suggest that the " attack on the journalists , while not deliberate , was avoidable " . The CPJ determined that the tank ' s intended target was an Iraqi forward artillery observer when it hit the hotel . The report went on to say " CPJ has learned that Pentagon officials , as well as commanders on the ground in Baghdad , knew that the Palestine Hotel was full of international journalists and were intent on not hitting it . "