Shoe-thrower draws own footwear missile

PARIS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush had footwear tossed at him in Paris, witnesses said.

Just as Bush had done last year in Baghdad, Muntader al-Zaidi had to duck Tuesday to avoid being struck by a flying shoe, this one launched by an Iraqi man described as an asylum-seeker in France, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The newspaper said the incident happened at a press conference called by Zaidi to publicize his campaign "victims of the U.S. occupation in Iraq," during which a man identified as an asylum-seeker known only as "Khayat" yelled, "Here's another shoe for you," in Arabic before hurling the footwear.

The man also reportedly accused Zaidi of "working for dictatorship in Iraq." The Telegraph said he was grabbed by Zaidi's brother, who slapped him before they were separated and the alleged shoe-thrower was taken from the room.

"When I used this method, it was against the occupation. I did not use it against a compatriot," Zaidi told reporters after the incident. "I always knew the occupier and his lackeys would stop at nothing to get to me."