View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
April 10, 2003updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

’15 minutes after the tank fired at my colleagues’

By Press Gazette

ITV News correspondent Neil Connery was in the Palestine Hotel during the attack. He filed this story 15 minutes after the strike.

“Forgive me, I’m slightly breathless. I’ve just come up from the reception of our hotel.

“I was downstairs in the reception and it happened about 15 minutes ago and we saw, I counted at least five people being brought out on carpets, makeshift stretchers. Very chaotic scenes, a lot of people screaming, some covered in blood. Trying to rush these people off, obviously to get them as quickly as they could to hospital for medical treatment. It’s a very confusing scene about exactly where the fire came from -whether it was an Iraqi shell or whether it came from US forces, we just don’t know.

“But what is clear is that some form of shell has struck the hotel, which is full of international journalists. As I say, I counted at least four or five and there may be others that have been injured. I’m not sure how seriously. They have been taken off to hospital literally in the last few minutes. This is the first time that this hotel has come under attack – it’s not clear whether it was intentional or accidental.

“My initial feeling is that perhaps it was accidental, given the amount of fire that is going on around us and has been during the morning. But that is just my personal feeling. What is clear is that some of our colleagues in the media have been injured here this morning.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network