Feb 11, 2008 3:30 pm US/Eastern
Journalist Pair Working For CBS Missing In Iraq
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Two journalists working for CBS News in Basra, Iraq, are missing, according to a statement released today from CBS.
"All efforts are underway to find them and until we learn more details, CBS News requests that others do not speculate on the identities of those involved," said a statement from the network. "CBS News has been in touch with the families and asks that their privacy be respected."
On Jan. 31, violence hit to the southern city of Basra, where militants pummeled Britain's airport base with 20 rockets and British gunners answered with volleys of artillery. Civilians were killed and wounded in the crossfire.
The Basra battle also exposed potential security gaps around Iraq's second-largest city less than two months after a scaled-down British force handed over control to Iraqi police and military. Rival Shiite factions are locked in fierce struggles for dominance in Basra and the rest of the oil-rich south.
Casualty figures from the Jan. 31 incident were uncertain in Basra, where militants had launched a 45-minute barrage at dawn with 20 rockets hitting Britain's base at the airport. Three British soldiers were reported wounded, but there was little damage to the base.
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