The Guardian

An ITN interpreter who went missing in the Iraq war last year may have died in the firefight that killed reporter Terry Lloyd, according to new evidence.

ITN believes DNA tests indicate that the Lebanese translator, Hussein Osman, was killed when a four-man team was caught in crossfire between Iraqi and US troops near Basra on the first day of the war last March.

Tests carried out by British military investigators on remains retrieved from the scene showed a match with the DNA profile of Osman's family, ITN said.

But the team from the royal military police (RMP) have been unable to find any trace of Fred Nerac, the French cameraman who was travelling in the same vehicle as Osman.

Nerac and Osman were in a jeep behind their ITN colleagues, Lloyd and cameraman Daniel Demoustier, when the incident happened.

Lloyd was fatally injured at the scene, while Demoustier survived by driving his jeep off road, jumping free and later being rescued by Daily Express journalists.

ITN said the DNA evidence appeared to corroborate the testimony of an Iraqi witness who claimed Osman and Nerac were taken from their ITN car and placed in an Iraqi military vehicle.

ITN's chief executive, Mark Wood, said the test results effectively confirmed evidence assembled through ITN's own research and by the year-long RMP investigation suggesting that the missing men had been killed in the gun battle.

"Our thoughts at this time are with Hussein's widow, Samira, and his two children Abdullah and Fatima," Mr Wood said.

"Hussein died in the noblest of causes, helping the ITN team get to the heart of the story as the war unfolded. His family should be tremendously proud of his achievements. We can only hope that this will at last allow them the opportunity to grieve properly."

He added that it was "tragic" that Nerac's wife, Fabienne, still did not have the same certainty about her husband's fate.

"Our thoughts are also with Fred's wife, Fabienne, and their family, who have borne the strain of Fred's disappearance and the ensuing uncertainty with incredible strength and dignity," Mr Wood said.

Mrs Nerac told MediaGuardian.co.uk earlier this year that her hopes of finding her husband alive had faded.

"What I would like to know is a clear answer - is he dead or is he alive?" she said in March. "If he is dead, then we'll have this or that reason and it will be much better."

ITN said today it was committed to continuing its efforts to get "clear evidence" of what happened to Nerac, and said it would consult with the Ministry of Defence and the French government.

"We are deeply grateful to defence secretary Geoff Hoon for ordering the investigation and indebted to the RMP team for the incredibly thorough detective work they have carried out over the past year in the most difficult circumstances," Mr Wood said.

ITN conducted its own investigation immediately after the incident and employed a specialist security firm, AKE, to help with the gathering of evidence and with a search of the scene of the incident.

Their findings were passed to the British government team when they started work in July.

MediaGuardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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