[Mb-civic] Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt injured in Iraq

[Harold Sifton]

ABC News' Bob Woodruff and Cameraman Injured in Iraq
'World News Tonight' Co-Anchor and Cameraman Slammed by IED While with Iraqi Army
Jan. 29, 2006 — - "World News Tonight" anchor, Bob Woodruff and his camera man, Doug Vogt, are both in serious condition after they were hit by an improvised explosive device in Taji, Iraq, today. 

Woodruff is undergoing surgery at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, where Vogt also is being treated. 

Woodruff, Vogt and their four-man team were traveling in a convoy with the Iraqi army. They were in a mechanized vehicle when the explosive went off. The exposion was followed by small arms fire. 

Both men suffered head injuries. Woodruff sustained shrapnel wounds and Vogt was hit by shrapnel in the head and suffered a broken shoulder. 

Both were wearing body armor, helmets and ballistic glasses. They had been traveling in a U.S. armored humvee, but then transferred into the Iraqi vehicle. The men were medevaced to the Green Zone to receive treatment. They were then flown by helicopter to Balad which is about a 20-minute ride from Baghdad, said ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. 

"There are very good doctors, the best medical care you can possibly get, in Balad," said Raddatz. 

Woodruff has been on assignment in Iraq and planned to broadcast from the war-torn country this week for the State of the Union address. 

The father of four children, he was one of the first reporters in Pakistan following the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Woodruff's overseas reporting of the fallout from Sept. 11th was part of ABC News coverage recognized with the Alfred I. DuPont Award and the George Foster Peabody Award, the two highest honors in broadcast journalism. 

He has also covered the Iraq conflict in Baghdad, Najaf, Nassariya and Basra. During the initial invasion, Woodruff reported from the front lines as an embedded journalist with the First Marine Division, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. 

Vogt, the father of three daughters, was sitting next to ABC News producer David Kaplan when the producer was shot and killed in Bosnia, and has considerable experience documenting war. 

Earlier this month, Vogt, who has been with ABC News for more than 15 years, was with Woodruff in Iran. He was recently in another convoy in which someone was killed by an IED. 

"They've covered all the wars, the hot spots," said ABC New's Jim Sciutto, who is covering the war in Iraq. "The best we have with Doug. He's the cameraman we all request when we go to the field because he's so good, a fantastic eye. He's won so many awards for ABC." 

Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
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