A prominent Iraqi state television anchorman was shot dead on Tuesday as he was driving in the capital, AFP reported. "Riad al-Saray was killed at 6:00 am in Mansur district (of west Baghdad) as he was on his way to Karbala," journalist Ahmed al-Mullah was quoted as saying.
Saray, a trained lawyer born in 1975, joined Al-Iraqiya in 2005, producing and presenting political and religious programmes for the state broadcaster. He was also on the local council of the Shiite neighbourhood of Shula in northwest Baghdad.
Following his death, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which called on the Iraqi authorities to launch an immediate investigation. "Reporters Without Borders calls for a proper investigation capable of identifying and arresting both the perpetrators and instigators of this murder and bringing them to justice," a statement said.
"It would be deplorable it this killing were to go unpunished, which unfortunately has been the case in 99 per cent of the 230 murders of journalists and media workers since the US-led invasion in 2003," it added. RSF said Saray's killing was a "targeted murder" that brought to "15 the number of Al-Iraqiya journalists who have been killed since Saddam Hussein?s removal."
