Wazzan, a news anchor with the Iraqi state TV channel Al-Iraqiya who
was kidnapped on February 20, was found dead five days later on a
roadside in Mosul, where the journalist had lived and worked, according
to press reports citing her husband. She had been shot in the head
repeatedly. Gunmen had also kidnapped Wazzan’s 10-year-old son, but he
was released days later.
Wazzan’s husband said that his wife had
received several death threats with demands that she quit her job, The
Associated Press reported. The station, funded by the Iraqi government,
also came under mortar attack the previous week, injuring three
technicians, according to press reports. The AP reported that
al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks in
Internet postings, but those claims could not be independently verified.