CNN's Anderson Cooper said Wednesday that he and his crew were violently attacked by pro-Mubarak forces as they tried to make their way through the streets of Cairo.
"Anderson Cooper punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounds him and his crew at Cairo rally," Maan News Agency's George Hale tweeted.
Cooper described his ordeal on CNN's American Morning.
"I just tried to make my way to Liberation Square and got as far as the Egyptian Museum and with my team: Marion Fox, my producer and Neil, my cameraman," he began.
"One man grabbed Neil's camera and started screaming, 'no, no,' trying to take the camera from him. We intervened peacefully, and literally that was the switch that ignited the crowd, and they just set upon us, punching us, kicking us," Cooper continued.
"We had, I mean, literally a mob of people surround us just, you know, I got punched in the head probably a good ten times or so, and we literally ended up being turned around by the crowd, and we had tried to walk because we didn't want to run because if we started to run, the crowd would, you know, sense fear and attack us even more," he said.
"All of us are fine. My producer was roughed up, my female producer was roughed up by the crowd as well. They clearly do not want cameras present in the square and are incredibly hostile to any media."
"Down in the crowd, can you even make out which side is which?" asked CNN host TJ Holmes. "Who is who? Who is coming after and attacking you guys you?"
"Well, it's clear. I know exactly who is attacking us, it's the pro mubarak forces, no doubt about it."
