Latest War Victim in Iraq's Media: A Popular Comedian

By: E&P Staff and The Associated Press Walid Hassan, a star of a popular Iraqi television show known for its dark humor about the country's many problems, was shot to death while driving through Baghdad on Monday.

Like so many other shootings in the killing fields of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, the identify of the attackers was not known, police said.

"He was an actor who made fun of the miserable situation in our country, not a politician. But some people don't like that, so he was assassinated to silence him," said one grieving fan, Namiq Hassan, 42, an Oil Ministry employee.

Hassan, a Shiite in his 40's, was one of five actors in "Caricature," a 45-minute comedy satire on Al-Sharqiyah TV that did not hesitate to make fun of U.S. forces, Shiite militias, Sunni-Arab insurgent groups, and the chaotic Iraqi governments that have tried to rule this country since Saddam Hussain was overthrown in the 2003 invasion.

"He was a star in the galaxy of Iraqi arts," Ali Hanoon, the show's director, told The Washington Post. "Now, he's another sacrifice on the altar of this slaughtered country."

The Post observed: "Hassan, who also produced a political show, was the latest casualty in the Iraqi media world, which has suffered heavily since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 unleashed a wave of press freedom. So far, 133 reporters, cameramen and other media workers have been killed in Iraq, the vast majority of them Iraqi, according to Reporters Without Borders, a journalists advocacy group."

Iraqis weary of the tumult around them ? from widespread killings and kidnappings, to inadequate power and water supplies ? had turned to the TV show to watch Hassan and his fellow actors portray policemen taking bribes and government officials whose main goal in life is lining their own pockets and leaving the country to protect their own safety, not solving the many problems of Iraqi citizens.

Another actor on the show is Saad Khalifa, who also stars in "Hurry Up, He's Dead," a popular TV comedy that provides parody newscasts in an Iraqi version of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

In one episode of "Caricature," Hassan told his friends that "Iraqi policemen in a convoy were firing in the air in order to make their way through my neighborhood yesterday, and they used more ammunition than the Russians did to break the siege on Stalingrad in World War II."

For fan Faris Naeem, 35, Hassan's killing was heartbreaking.

"The assassination of this actor is another sign of Iraq's chaos. The criminals who are targeting actors, athletes and other public figures want to keep the blood flowing over any sign of humanity and culture," said Naeem, the owner of TV repair shop in Baghdad.