Death Toll for Journalists in Iraq Jumps Suddenly in May

By: E&P Staff Five journalists and media workers have been killed in the space of a few days this month in Iraq, according to the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"The first few days of May have been exceptionally murderous for the
Iraqi news media," the group said in a statement. "We can no
longer find words to express our horror at the tragedies constantly
suffered by the press in Iraq, where 93 journalists and media
assistants have been killed since the start of the war, 18 of them
since the start of the year.?

According to RSF, freelance journalist Abdel Magid Al Mohammadaoui and TV Reporter Saud Mazahem Al Hadithi were found dead May 5 in Baghdad. As well, a car bomb went off in the garage of the Baghdad-based newspaper Al-Sabah on May 7, killing printing shop technician Ismail Mohammad Khalaf and injuring more than 20 other employees, including journalists. Additionally, according to the group, the bodies of reporter Muazaz Ahmad Barud and soundman Leith Al-Dulaimi
of Iraqi TV station Al-Nahrain were found on May 8 in Al-Wihda.

The group has asked Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki to initiate an investigation "to shed light on the murders of journalists in Iraq."