Wadih
al-Hamdani, a longtime correspondent for Baghdad TV, was covering the funeral
of an assassinated tribal leader in the southern city of Basra when a mourner
fired a gun into the air and a bullet hit al-Hamdani, the station reported.
The
funeral of Sheikh Adnan Majeed al-Ghanem received significant news coverage. The
Associated Press reported
that the bodies of the sheikh and another Sunni, Sheikh Kadim al-Jubouri, had
been found on November 26 after being kidnapped a month before.
Shooting
firearms into the air during celebration and mourning is a widespread practice
across the Middle East, but it can pose deadly risks to those around the
shooting.
Baghdad
TV said
al-Hamdani, who worked as a correspondent for the channel for more than eight
years, is survived by a wife and three children.