Journalists Hit by Surge of Attacks in Iraq's Mosul

The north Iraq city of Mosul has become a nightmare for journalists, with five killed since October with alleged impunity, pushing some to flee the area or even the country.

Iraq has come in for repeated criticism over the lack of media freedom and the number of unsolved killings of journalists.

But the series of attacks on journalists in Mosul, with the latest on Sunday when gunmen shot dead TV presenter Nawras al-Nuaimi, is the worst to hit Iraq in years.

"I had to change my place of residence in Mosul and remain at my (new) home without leaving, after the killings that affected a number of my colleagues," said journalist Salim Fadhel, 30.

"My colleagues left Mosul for the Kurdistan region with their families, or for outside Iraq," Fadhel said, referring to the autonomous three-province region of north Iraq where attacks are relatively rare compared to the rest of the country.

"There is a rumor in Mosul saying that armed groups issued a list of names of 40 journalists who will be eliminated by them," Fadhel added.

Nuaimi, a young presenter for Al-Mosuliyah TV, was the sixth journalist to be killed in Iraq since October, of whom five died in Mosul.

Her death came after that of Alaa Edwar, a Christian journalist working for the Nineveh al-Ghad television network, who was shot dead in Mosul in November.

And Al-Mosuliyah cameraman Bashar Abdulqader Najm and two journalists from Sharqiya television channel -- correspondent Mohammed Karim al-Badrani and cameraman Mohammed Ghanem -- were killed in Mosul in October.

Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, is one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, with militants frequently carrying out attacks and reportedly extorting money from shopkeepers.

And Iraq as a whole has come in for repeated criticism from media rights groups.

"Many Iraqi journalists are routinely exposed to threats, murder attempts, attacks, difficulties obtaining permission, denial of access, confiscation of equipment and so on," media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said earlier this year.

Another journalist, Kawa Ahmed Germyani, was shot dead earlier this month in front of his mother in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Following that killing, RSF said it was "worried about the very dangerous climate for journalists both in Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, and about the impunity enjoyed by their attackers and killers."

'Astonished by weakness'

Ban al-Obaidi, the Mosul representative of an Iraqi media rights group, said its efforts are limited to issuing condemnations when attacks or other violations occur, "because of the lack of interest of relevant government agencies."

"Fifty journalists or media (employees) have been killed in the province of Nineveh at the hands of unknown (people) since 2003," and others have been wounded or disabled, she said.

"We are astonished by the weakness of the security forces and the local government, which appear helpless in front of the killing and targeting of journalists that is happening without them moving a finger to protect them," said Fadhel.

Authorities should "at least arrest some of those who carry out killings, to find out who is behind them," he said.

Adhawi al-Suaib, a member of the Nineveh provincial council's culture committee, which is responsible for handling issues related to journalists, admitted it is unable to protect them.

"We recognize our inability to do what is necessary to ensure journalists in Mosul are protected," Suaib told Agence France Presse.

"We are not even able to protect ourselves."