Abdul Razzak, an Iraqi news anchor working for the local, private, Arabic-language TV station Al-Sharqiya, was killed in the capital, Baghdad, by gunmen. Local journalists told CPJ that Abdul Razzak was traveling in a taxi with two companions when gunmen in another car opened fire. She and at least one of the other passengers, a translator, were killed. The gunmen have not been apprehended or identified.
Journalists told CPJ that the motive for Abdul Razzak’s killing is unclear. Her husband, a Tunisian national, worked as a translator for the U.S.-backed coalition until he was killed a few months before her murder, according to the journalists. Abdul Razzak had worked at the coalition-backed Al-Iraqiya TV but left the station and joined the private Al-Sharqiya about a month before her death. According to press reports, Al-Sharqiya is owned by the London-based Azzaman group, which also publishes a popular daily newspaper in Iraq.
Local sources say they are not aware of Abdul Razzak receiving any death threats before the shooting.