Arwa Damon is an international correspondent for CNN based in the network’s Baghdad bureau.
Most recently Damon reported on the story of Youssif, a five-year-old Iraqi boy burnt by insurgents. Youssif’s story generated a global reaction that brought Youssif and his family to the United States to receive help in many forms including medical aid to Youssif. This story is just one of many that Damon has reported on in regards to the plight of Iraqi children and other victims of war.
In 2007 Damon reported from inside the Khamiya women's prison in Iraq on the desperate situation of the women behind bars. She was the first television reporter allowed inside and CNN was the first news organization to air stories from inside the prison's walls. Damon also had exclusive coverage of the offensive to win back Baghdad’s notorious Haifa Street from Sunni extremists and of the battle for Buhritz in Diyala province, an al-Qaeda stronghold.
In addition to covering the military operations in Iraq, Damon has reported on the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants in late 2006, the Iraq elections in January 2006 and December of 2005 and Iraq’s Constitutional Referendum vote in October 2005.
More highlights in Damon’s coverage in Iraq include the U.S. Army's battle in Najaf against the Mehdi Army, the battle to retake Samarra and Fallujah during the weeklong offensive against insurgents in November 2004.
Before joining CNN Damon spent three years covering Iraq and the Middle East as a freelance producer for various news organizations including Feature Story News (PBS), CNN and FOX news.
Damon graduated with honors from Skidmore College in New York with a double major in French and Biology and a minor in International affairs. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts but spent most of her childhood in Morocco and Turkey. She is fluent in Arabic, French and Turkish.
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