A prominent Iraqi state television anchorman was shot dead on Tuesday as he was driving in the capital, a colleague told AFP, as a media watchdog reported the conflict has been the most deadly for the media since World War II.
"Riad al-Saray was killed at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in Mansur district (of west Baghdad) as he was on his way to Karbala," a Shiite shrine city south of the capital, television journalist Ahmed al-Mullah said.
Traffic police in the area of the attack failed to hear any gunshots but saw Saray's vehicle veer off course and crash into the side of the road, Mullah said, adding that a silencer must have been used to murder the anchorman.
Saray, a trained lawyer born in 1975, joined Al-Iraqiya in 2005, producing and presenting political and religious programs for the state broadcaster. He was known to strive to narrow differences between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite communities in his religious programs.
News of Saray's death drew condemnation from media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which urged the Iraqi authorities to launch an immediate investigation. "Reporters Without Borders calls for a proper investigation capable of identifying and arresting both the perpetrators and instigators of this murder and bringing them to justice," a statement said. "It would be deplorable it this killing were to go unpunished, which unfortunately has been the case in 99 per cent of the 230 murders of journalists and media workers since the US-led invasion in 2003," it added.
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Source: Al ManarAdvertisment
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