A suicide attacker driving a garbage truck packed with explosives set off a blast near the main entrance of Baghdad TV’s offices on April 5, killing Deputy Director Jaber. Hussein Nizar, a guard, died from his injuries the following day. Eleven other employees
were injured in the attack, according to CPJ sources.
The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, an Iraqi press freedom organization, reported that the attackers fired at the station’s guards, clearing the way for the truck. The front of the building, which housed the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party-owned Baghdad TV and Radio Dar al-Salam, was destroyed along with several station and employee vehicles, according to news reports. The main transmission equipment was damaged, briefly interrupting broadcasts.
Jaber often helped CPJ document attacks against journalists in Iraq. CPJ learned of Jaber’s death after calling his cell phone and being informed by a family member that he had been killed.