TheBlaze foreign affairs correspondent Jason Buttrill took literally shots at ISIS while reporting from the Mosul offensive in Iraq.
Buttrill tweeted an image of the moment, with the caption, “Major bucket list completed. Shoot at #ISIS ? Check!”
Major bucket list completed. Shoot at #ISIS ? Check! pic.twitter.com/sACRLFoY5V
— Jason Buttrill (@JasonButtrill) December 8, 2016
Some people didn’t think the stunt or his flippant comment was funny, however, and The New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers tweeted his displeasure.
dude, when you get shot we can't really go "oh boo-hoo for journalism," can we? how about knocking off the bullshit. https://t.co/UgAhkyiMP5
— C.J. Chivers (@cjchivers) December 9, 2016
Reporter Michael Yon emailed the Military Times to condemn the situation.
“If he represents himself as a combatant who also dabbles in writing, he is fine, but if he represents himself as a journalist with a sniper rifle shooting at the enemy, he is off the rails,” Yon wrote. “I did fire a rifle once in very close combat in Mosul. Hand-to-hand combat was going on within spitting distance; the commander was hit three times just close to me. My engagement was defensive. Nobody else was there to fight, so I tried to save our Soldiers. I never engaged in mercenary or offensive action.”
The photo tweeted by Buttrill is from footage that will be used for an upcoming TheBlaze special, “The Root.” Meanwhile, Buttrill continues to chronicle his trip to Iraq on Twitter.
#ISIS wrote Allah Akbar in nails on the wall of this home close to #Mosul . pic.twitter.com/VJF2JaY7Vt
— Jason Buttrill (@JasonButtrill) December 8, 2016