Reuters photographer scores with iconic war image

Reuters photographer Desmond Boylan scored an exclusive with iconic images of a US Marine replacing the Iraqi flag with the Stars and Stripes and the Marine Corps flag above the entrance to Iraq's main port Umm Qasar March 21. Within seconds of the pictures hitting the London Pictures desk they were flashed around the World by television broadcasters.

In the thick of the action on an "Embed" with Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company, Boylan pictured events as the unit fought stiff Iraqi resistance to take the port. His pictures report of the victorious Marines is balanced with images of columns of frightened Iraqi prisoners, and the terror of civilians injured in the crossfire.

Reuters has over 150 journalists - text, video, photography - in Iraq and the Middle East. This includes 18 in Baghdad and around 15 people in Northern Iraq. They also have the largest number of journalists (33) embedded with UK and US military.

For more information, contact Susan Allsopp, PR Manager, Reuters, Tel:+ 44 207 542 8404