Nabil Ibrahim al-Dulaimi

New York, May 3, 2007—Dozens of heavily armed gunmen stormed an independent radio station in Baghdad’s Al-Jamia district today, killing one employee, destroying equipment, and knocking the station off the air. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s assault on Radio Dijla.

Around 2:30 p.m. local time, dozens of masked gunmen attacked Radio Dijla with missiles and heavy machine guns, killing guard Adel al-Badri and injuring two other guards, Karim Yousef, acting director-general, told CPJ. The gunmen seized the first floor of the two-story building, causing Radio Dijla’s 25 employees to flee to the second floor and fight off the attack, he said.

New York, March 19, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction of an Iraqi news presenter and his driver by armed men in Baghdad on Saturday.

Around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, four masked gunmen seized Karim Manhal, a news presenter and editor for the privately owned Radio Dijla, and the station’s driver, Thamir Sabri, as they were heading to work in Baghdad’s Al-Jamia neighborhood, station Director Karim Yousef told CPJ. A passenger and colleague, Rana al-Samaraee, was allowed to go free, he said. The abduction took place near the station’s offices.

New York, December 4, 2006—Unidentified gunmen killed Nabil Ibrahim al-Dulaimi, 36, a news editor for the privately-owned station Radio Dijla, shortly after he left his home in Baghdad’s al-Washash neighborhood for work today, sources at the station told the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“We offer our condolences to the family of Nabil Ibrahim al-Dulaimi,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “He was a member of what has become one of the deadliest professions in Iraq. Iraqi journalists and media staff are constantly being targeted with impunity,” he said.