BAGHDAD, Iraq — A Reuters television-sound technician was killed and a cameraman was injured yesterday while trying to cover a Baghdad gunbattle involving insurgents and U.S. troops. Police said the men were fired on by American forces.

Waleed Khaled, 35, was killed and cameraman Haider Khadem was wounded while driving to the scene of the clash in the western Baghdad district of Adil, said Alastair MacDonald, Reuters' chief correspondent in Baghdad.

The two appear to have been targeted by a sniper, and Khadem was detained by U.S. troops after being shot, MacDonald said.

Maj. Mousa Abdul Karim of the Ghazaliyah police said U.S. soldiers opened fire on the two men near Umm al-Qura mosque.

A statement from the U.S. Army's Task Force Baghdad said troops responded to an attack on an Iraqi police convoy that killed and wounded several officers.

"One civilian was killed and another was wounded by small-arms fire during the attack," the statement said. "After discovering an abandoned car with explosives material, weapons and a cellphone, units began searching the area for the terror suspects who were believed to have fled on foot."

Task Force Baghdad spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone said U.S. troops evacuated one wounded civilian from the scene, and the incident was being investigated.

MacDonald said Reuters had not heard from Khadem since he was detained and could not find out where he was being held.

More journalists have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003 than during the 20 years of conflict in Vietnam, media-rights group Reporters Without Borders said yesterday.

Since U.S. forces and its allies launched their campaign in Iraq in March 2003, 66 journalists and their assistants have been killed, it reported.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said yesterday he would not sign a death sentence for Saddam Hussein if the former leader was convicted and said he would resign if the sentence was passed.

Talabani, who opposes the death penalty on principle, said he expected the former leader to be convicted but it was not clear if he might let a deputy sign a death sentence on his behalf.

"When the death sentence is given to me, I will not sign it on principle ... and if it does pass, I will relieve myself of my post," he told Al Arabiya television.

Hussein is expected to be put on trial for his life within two months. He met his lawyer and the chief judge investigating charges against him last week and confirmed that the rest of his legal team had been sacked.

Syrian president offers views

BERLIN — In an interview published yesterday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad condemned acts of terror in Iraq that claim innocent lives, but said there was also an opposition movement that was completely distinct.

"In Iraq there are terror operations which claim the lives of innocent people — we reject these categorically. But there is also a resistance movement, and that is something else — something quite normal," Assad told German weekly Der Spiegel.

Asked about U.S. allegations that Syria allows insurgents to cross its border to Iraq, Assad said: "We have told the Americans in no uncertain terms that it is impossible for us to bring the border with Iraq under complete control.

"We also tell them the war is responsible for the chaos. It is not fair to make a mistake oneself and then try and blame someone else."

Compiled from The Associated Press and Reuters