Conflict Takes Deadly Toll on Journalists, Especially Those From Iraq-5 killed Sunday

[babylonsister]

Conflict Takes Deadly Toll on Journalists, Especially Those From Iraq
by Christian Berthelsen

BAGHDAD - Five Iraqi journalists were killed in separate attacks Sunday, marking one of the deadliest days for reporters covering war-torn country in nearly a year.1016 01

Four reporters for Iraqi media organizations were reported shot to death in ambushes near Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

Previously reported was the death of Salih Saif Aldin, a correspondent for The Washington Post who apparently was shot to death Sunday while on assignment in the dangerous Sadiyah neighborhood of southwest Baghdad.

Iraqi journalists have faced the greatest dangers covering the war in Iraq, and they have borne the brunt of deaths among reporters. Western media organizations rely on Iraqi journalists for street reporting, going where foreign correspondents often cannot go because of the dangers to Westerners. Although they speak the language and blend in more easily, the Iraqi reporters often face equal threats: Iraqis discovered working for Western media organizations are treated as enemy collaborators.

“Two years ago, murder became the leading cause of journalist deaths in Iraq, overtaking crossfire,” said Joel Campagna, the Middle East project coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “That’s a trend that has continued to this day, and the overwhelming number of victims are Iraqi journalists.”

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/16/4559/

[Junkdrawer]

1. Something baaad be going down in Iraq...Prying eyes not welcome. n/t

[Imagevision]

2. Blackwater doing what it does best, silencing the messenger's...