Three journalists and driver killed in ambush near Kirkuk

Reporters Without Borders voiced utter dismay at the death of three journalists and their driver in an apparently targeted ambush yesterday near Al-Rashad, about 60 km south of the northern city of Kirkuk. They were killed when their car was surrounded by several vehicles and gunmen opened fire. “This attack brings the number of media personnel killed in Iraq since the start of the year to 20,” the press freedom organisation said. “The list of dead just gets longer and longer without the Iraqi authorities taking any action to stop the slaughter. These killings must be investigated and everything must be done to put a stop to the impunity.” The victims of yesterday's ambush were Raad Mutasha al-Issawi (photo), 42, editor of the privately-owned weekly newspaper Al-Iraq Al-Ghad and the news agency Al-Raad; two of his journalists, Nibras Abdel-Razak Obaid, 29, and Imad Obaid, 25; and their driver, Hakil Abdel-Kader Alouani, 26. No motive has so far been suggested, but they may have been targeted for opposing Kirkuk's annexation to the autonomous Kurdish region in their writing. Al-Iraq Al-Ghad also received financial support from the US army. According to Reporters Without Borders' figures, at least 174 journalists and media assistants have been killed in Iraq since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003. Two other journalists are missing and 12 are currently being held hostage.