APRIL 15, 2005
Updated September 29, 2005
Saman Abdullah Izzedine, Kirkuk TV
KILLED—CONFIRMED
Unidentified assailants gunned down Izzedine, a 33-year-old news anchor for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-backed Kirkuk TV as he was driving on the main highway from Kirkuk to Baghdad. Kurdish journalists in Kirkuk said that Izzedine’s car was fired on by a group of armed men driving a black Nissan. After Izzedine was shot, his attackers threw his body onto the road and left the scene, the journalists reported.
Kurdish journalists said Kirkuk TV’s anti-insurgent stance has made it vulnerable to attack from armed groups, and they believe Izzedine, a prominent personality on Kirkuk TV, was targeted for his work with the station. Izzedine denounced insurgents as terrorists on his weekly political news program, CPJ sources said.