BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi freelance photographer working for Reuters has been detained by U.S. and Iraqi forces south of Baghdad, the news agency said Wednesday.
Ibrahim Jassam was detained early Tuesday during a raid on his home in the town of Mahmoudiya, located about 20 miles south of the capital, the London-based news agency said.
The U.S. military spokesman Lt. Patrick Evans said Jassam was detained because he was "assessed to be a threat" to Iraq and coalition forces. Evans did not provide more details.
Reuters said it was seeking more information on the arrest of Jassam, who had supplied photos and video for the news agency for about two years and also worked for Iraqi media.
"We are concerned to hear about Jassam's detention, and urge the U.S. military to either charge or release him once an initial investigatory stage is concluded," said Reuters editor-in-chief, David Schlesinger.
Since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, the U.S. military has detained a number of Iraqi journalists working for international news organizations, including The Associated Press. None has been convicted in an Iraqi court.
In April, the U.S. military freed Bilal Hussein, an AP photographer who was among the recipients of a 2005 Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography from Iraq. He had been held for just over two years.
The Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate release of Jassam and criticized the arrests of journalists in Iraq.
"Simply possessing a camera or a film camera seems to be taken as evidence that some journalists are involved in terrorist networks. We are baffled by the lack of discrimination by the authorities," the group said in a statement.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Indonesian ferry sinks in heavy storm; dozens dead and missing Life requested for US suspect in Italy murder case