Spain to probe US killing of reporter
Spain´s Supreme Court has ordered the re-launch of an investigation into the death of a Spanish journalist who was killed by US tank fire in Iraq in 2003.
The Spanish court made the decision after the family of cameraman Jose Couso made an appeal on his case.
Couso was one of two journalists killed when members of a US tank crew shelled a hotel in Baghdad which housed Western journalists. The soldiers claimed the shelling was in response to what they called hostile fire from the hotel.
Meanwhile, US authorities said the soldiers´ actions were in accordance with circumstances of war, adding that the use of force was justified.
The deadly incident also led to the killing of a Ukrainian journalist, Taras Protsyuk, and wounding of three staff members of Reuters news agency.
Spain's top criminal court initially charged the US soldiers with homicide in 2007, but later shelved further investigation into the case, arguing that the incident was an accident of war and the killings were not intentional.
The three American soldiers involved have never appeared in a Spanish court in connection with the case.
