In initial reports, senior Somali military and police officials said a foreigner approached government soldiers near the Villa Somalia presidential palace in Mogadishu early Wednesday, identifying himself as one of the French men abducted by gunmen at the Sahafi Hotel last month.

VOA: standard.2009.08.26

As many as 90 people were reported killed in the air strike and initial reports from the local Afghan population described most of the victims as civilians.

VOA: standard.2009.09.07

Amid a partial news blackout in Egypt, initial reports claimed that ground troops, backed by helicopter gunships, had killed at least a score of the jihadists, though locals were sceptical of the claim.

ECONOMIST: Egypt, Israel and Sinai

The NATO military coalition said in a statement that "initial reports" showed no enemy activity in the area at the time.

NPR: 5 US Troops Die In Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan

But after the death of Princess Diana in an automobile crash, which initial news reports blamed on aggressive photographers, interest in the photographers boomed.

CNN: Includes a single photo of Princess Diana