Unidentified gunmen in west Baghdad shot al-Khaldi, 35, a presenter for the Iraqi television station Baghdad TV. Al-Khaldi was driving to the northern city of Mosul to interview poets when assailants stopped the car and fired three shots, Baghdad TV Deputy Director Thaer Ahmad said. One passenger was killed and two others were injured. Al-Khaldi presented an educational and cultural show focusing on Middle Eastern poetry.
On March 1, Baghdad TV came under artillery fire by insurgents, according to Ahmad. Four employees were injured by two shells, which hit a parking area. The station had received e-mail threats because of its criticism of insurgent attacks, Ahmad added.
Baghdad TV is owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the biggest Sunni political group. Two of its correspondents had been killed by U.S. forces’ fire in the preceding year.