Iraqi woman journalist shot dead in Baghdad

Reporters Without Borders today condemned the fatal shooting yesterday in Baghdad of Iraqi TV journalist Liqaa Abdul-Razzaq in what "once again bears the hallmarks of an execution." An interpreter and the driver of the taxi she was travelling in were also killed in the same shooting, while a woman friend was wounded. "We are outraged by what appears to have been a targeted killing designed to intimidate the entire press and we call on the authorities to carry out a rapid and thorough investigation to identify those responsible and prevent this kind of tragedy continuing," the organisation said. It also reiterated the principle that "journalists are neutral observers whose work must be protected and respected in order to ensure that news reporting is as free and thorough as possible." Abdul-Razzak was travelling in the taxi with her friend and the interpreter when it was fired on by unidentified gunmen. Abdel-Razak, the interpreter and the taxi-driver all died on the spot. The injured friend was rushed to hospital but quickly left for fear of being followed there and killed. Abdel Salam Dhari, a journalist with the TV station Al-Iraqiya, said Abdel-Razak was on her way to the US base of Eskania in the Al-Saydia district south of Baghdad on personal business. Her husband, who was murdered two months ago, worked as an interpreter for the US army. Abdel-Razak had been working for the past month for the Iraqi TV station Al-Sharqiya, which is part of the Al-Zaman press group. She also had a contract with the US-financed TV station Al-Iraqiya. She had just given birth to a daughter and had a 6-year-old son. Iraq continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for the news media. At least 30 journalists and 15 other media workers have been killed there since the start of the war in March 2003. The number of journalists and media workers killed since the start of 2004 is 30, of whom 24 were Iraqis.