New York, July 7, 2017–Snipers from the Islamic State group today killed Iraqi journalists Sudad Faris and Harb Hazza al-Duleimi as they covered Iraqi soldiers’ push to retake a village near Mosul, according to the channel and news reports.
Faris, a cameraman for Salaheddin TV, and Al-Duleimi, a reporter for the broadcaster Hona Salaheddin, were trapped in a building alongside Samarra TV reporter Mustafa al-Wahadi and Iraqi security forces when fighters from the Islamic State group launched a counteroffensive to retake the village of Imam Gharbi, south of Mosul, a spokesman for Salaheddin TV told CPJ. Al-Duleimi and Faris were hit immediately, he said. Al-Wahadi fled with security forces to a nearby building, where they remained trapped for more than 12 hours before Iraqi soldiers and allied militias could rescue them, he said.
The bodies of Al-Duleimi and Faris were still in the village, the spokesman said, because it was too dangerous to remove them with snipers still active in the village.
“Sudad Faris and Harb Hazza al-Duleimi’s deaths are a tragic reminder of the immense risks journalists take covering the conflict in Iraq,” CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. “Every day, Iraqi journalists show incredible courage in their commitment to bring the news to their country and the world.”
More journalists have been killed in Iraq than in any other country since CPJ first began keeping records in 1992.
CPJ has published safety advisories for journalists covering the Mosul offensive.