(AFP) – Jun 17, 2008

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — Gunmen shot dead an Iraqi journalist working as a news anchor for state-run television outside his house in the northern city of Mosul, the local head of the channel said.

Mohialddin Abdulhamid, anchor for Al-Iraqiya channel in Nineveh province of which Mosul is the capital, was killed at around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) while on the way to work, the channel's bureau chief Yaarob al-Salim told AFP.

Police in Nineveh province said the murder took place in northern Mosul's Hail al-Zirae neighbourhood.

"The gunmen killed him in front of his house," said Salim.

"He was threatened many times but he did not quit his job. We condemn this crime and demand that the government provide security to journalists working in Mosul and Nineveh province."

Salim said Abdulhamid was a popular anchor who had presented several religious and cultural programmes on the channel.

A number of Iraqi journalists working in Nineveh have been killed by insurgents over past years.

The US military says Mosul is the last urban bastion of Al-Qaeda in Iraq militants.

At least 237 media workers, including 22 foreigners, have been killed since the 2003 US led-invasion of Iraq, according to figures from Iraq's Journalism Freedom Observatory.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »