Terry Lloyd, the ITN journalist, was shot dead by American troops as he was taken to hospital after being injured in crossfire during the Iraq war, an inquest heard today.

In the most detailed account yet of the “friendly-fire” incident, the inquest into the war correspondent’s death heard that an SAS soldier saw Mr Lloyd become trapped in a gunfight between a US tank and an Iraqi armed pick-up truck.

The father of two’s vehicle was seen bursting into flames before crashing at the side of the road in Basra, southern Iraq.

Mr Lloyd, 50, was helped into a minibus but as it sped towards a hospital, American soldiers riddled it with bullets shooting Mr Lloyd in the head, it was claimed.

Revealing for the first time that the SAS regiment witnessed the events leading up to the journalist’s killing, the solider said that he saw Mr Lloyd and his Lebanese interpreter Hussein Osman’s vehicle explode in flames on March 22, 2003.

Named only as Soldier B and giving evidence from behind a screen at the hearing in Oxford, he said he was 500 metres away when he saw three vehicles come under fire from the American tank on the second day of the war.

Mr Lloyd and Daniel Demoustier, a cameraman, were in the first vehicle, the second was an Iraqi pick-up with a mounted machine gun and the third vehicle contained Frec Nerac, a French cameraman, and Mr Osman.

Soldier B said the tank started shooting at the pick-up truck and the two vehicles began an exchange of fire lasting 30 seconds. Moments after the pick-up exploded into flames Mr Lloyd’s car caught fire.

“Vehicle One (Mr Lloyd’s vehicle) also ignited and went off to the side of the road to its right and came to rest on the side of a field, burning,” he said.

“During the engagement, two people got out of the rear vehicle from each side - the passenger and driver - and dashed about 20 metres and took cover.

“The tank continued to fire at the position where the people had taken cover.

“I couldn’t see them but I could see it firing in that direction for a maximum of a minute.

“Once there was no further movement in the area and the threat had been taken out, the firing stopped.”

He said he didn’t see the tank shoot in the direction of Mr Lloyd’s vehicle. Once the gunfire ceased, he saw a green minibus appear.

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Source: Times Online