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Lloyd, who had been traveling independently and was not embedded with any military unit, was first shot in the back by Iraqi soldiers who overtook his four-wheel-drive vehicle, the coroner ruled. Lloyd then walked to a civilian minivan and was being driven away for medical treatment when U.S. forces opened fire on the van and killed Lloyd with a shot to the head, Walker concluded.

"There is no doubt that the minibus presented no threat to the American forces," said Walker, in a ruling he read aloud. "There is no doubt it was an unlawful act of fire upon the minibus."

Coroner: U.S. Killed British TV Reporter
By Karla Adam and Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 13, 2006; 11:58 AM

OXFORD, England, Oct. 13 -- A British coroner ruled Friday that U.S. soldiers unlawfully killed a British television journalist during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Coroner Andrew Walker, following an eight-day inquest, also said he would seek prosecution of the U.S. soldiers responsible for the killing of Terry Lloyd, a veteran reporter for British television network ITN.

Walker said he would write to Britain's attorney general and director of public prosecutions "to see whether any steps can be taken to bring the perpetrators responsible for this to justice."

The U.S. Defense Department, in a statement, said U.S. military authorities investigated the incident and determined that American soldiers "followed the applicable rules of engagement." While it has been "an unfortunate reality that journalists have died in Iraq," U.S. soldiers have "never deliberately targeted" them or other non-combatants, the statement said.

According to a videotape provided by the U.S. military and testimony from witnesses, including an ITN cameraman who survived, Lloyd, 50, was killed after being caught in crossfire between U.S. and Iraqi forces near Basra on March 22, 2003.