Iraq among deadliest places for local journalists after 11 killed in past year

Eleven journalists died covering conflict or were assassinated in Iraq during the past year, a Baghdad-based watchdog said in a report released Wednesday to mark World Press Freedom Day.

“From May 3, 2016 to May 3 (this year), 11 journalists were killed and 44 wounded across Iraq, including the Kurdistan region,” said the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory.

Some were killed accidentally covering military operations against ISIS, some were murdered by the extremists and others were assassinated in yet to be elucidated circumstances.

The watchdog said it had also recorded a total of 375 violations of journalists’ rights during the same period.

The group’s head, Ziad al-Ajili, urged the Iraqi security forces to do their utmost to protect media workers and also called on journalists to follow security procedures.

Iraq is ranked 158 out of 180 countries in the Paris-based organization Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 press freedom index.