New York, July 5, 2005—An Iraqi television producer for the state news channel Al-Iraqiya was killed on Friday in Mosul after being kidnapped earlier in the day, according to international press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating the circumstances surrounding the slaying of Khaled al-Attar, who produced a program satirizing government officials.
Insurgents have increasingly targeted Al-Iraqiya and its journalists because of the station’s ties to the U.S.-supported Iraqi government. Insurgents have killed at least three other employees of the station and its affiliates since last year, and the offices of the station and its affiliates have repeatedly come under mortar attack.
At least 47 other journalists have been killed for their work in Iraq since March 2003.
