Reuters
May 9, 2004, in Grozny, Russia

Khasanov, a cameraman working for the British news agency Reuters, was killed by a bomb in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya, according to local and international press reports. The powerful bomb exploded at about 10:35 a.m. in the Dynamo Stadium in the Chechen capital, Grozny, where Khasanov was covering the annual Victory Day parade, which celebrates the Soviet Union's 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.The bomb killed at least six people, including Chechnya's pro-Moscow president, Akhmad Kadyrov. The bomb was placed in a concrete pillar under the VIP section of the stadium, suggesting that Kadyrov and other senior Chechen and Russian officials were targeted. Local authorities found a second unexploded bomb in the stadium after the attack.

Khasanov, 33, had worked as a cameraman and photographer for the Moscow bureau of Reuters since the 1990s. He covered the second Chechen war and at times spent days trekking through the mountains into neighboring Georgia to deliver video footage to Reuters, according to Reuters.

On May 17, rebel warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted on the pro-rebel Web site Kavkazcenter.com, according to international press reports. Russian authorities said they had a number of suspects in the case, but the investigation was ongoing at year's end, according to CPJ sources in Moscow.

Medium:Television
Job:Camera Operator
Beats Covered:Politics, War
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Dangerous Assignment
Suspected Source of Fire:Political Group

 

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