Four ‘New York Times’ Journalists Go Missing in Libya

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Shadid, the Beirut bureau chief; Stephen Farrell, who was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2009 and rescued by British commandos; and two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario,  were last in contact Tuesday morning New York time.

 

The paper said it has received second-hand reports that they had been swept up by Libyan government forces after reporting on the ground in the port city of Ajdabiya.

 

Said Executive editor, Bill Keller: “We have talked with officials of the Libyan government in Tripoli, and they tell us they are attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of our journalists. We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed. Their families and their colleagues at The Times are anxiously seeking information about their situation, and praying that they are safe.”

 

The news comes days after the BBC reported that four of its journalists were detained by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s security forces and beaten with rifles and subject to mock executions.