![Iraqi men take part in the funeral of four of the five journalists killed in an attack on an Iraqi television station headquarters the day before, in the northern city of Tikrit, during their funeral, on December 24, 2013. [AFP]](/sites/default/files/styles/d08_standard/public/im/iraq/000_Nic6278587.jpg?itok=n9l9EVKU "Iraqi men take part in the funeral of four of the five journalists killed in an attack on an Iraqi television station headquarters the day before, in the northern city of Tikrit, during their funeral, on December 24, 2013. [AFP]")
In an attack in which five journalists were killed, Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups are claiming credit for the suicide bombing event on an Iraqi television station headquarters.
What they claim was the direction of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s “war ministry,” militants attacked “the headquarters of the Salaheddin satellite (channel) which... distorts the facts and fights the Sunni people,” the group reported on internet jihadist forums.
Although police said four suicide bombers assaulted the channel’s headquarters, the online forum said two militants took part in the attack on Monday in Tikrit, north of Baghdad.
The chief news editor, a copy editor, a producer, a presenter and the archives manager were among the five killed in the attack which also wounded five more of its employees.
Iraq has recently come under fire over the lack of media transparency and the number of unsolved killings of journalists.
With 12 killed in attacks since October, the country is experiencing the worst violence against journalists in years.
According to AFP, more than 6,650 people have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the year.
