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.