Iraq most risky dateline for journos

New Delhi: Iraq was by far the deadliest country for journalists in 2006, with most of the 32 killed there targeted by insurgents, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said.

An analysis by the media watchdog found that 55 journalists were killed as a direct result of their work during 2006, up from 47 in 2005. The group is still investigating whether another 27 deaths were work-related.

Afghanistan and the Philippines, which each had three journalists killed, were the most dangerous datelines after Iraq. Two reporters were killed in Russia, Mexico, Pakistan and Colombia.

Iraq led the way as the deadliest place for journalists for the fourth year in a row.

Ninety-two reporters have been killed in the country since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Only four died in crossfire or acts of war, according to the report. The other 28 were murdered, with half threatened beforehand and three kidnapped and then killed.

Another 37 media support workers including interpreters, drivers, fixers and office workers have also been killed since the Iraq war started.

''The deaths in Iraq this year reflect the utter deterioration in reporters' traditional status as neutral observers in wartime,'' committee executive director Joel Simon said in a statement on Wednesday.

''When this conflict began more than three and half years ago, most journalists died in combat-related incidents. Now, insurgents routinely target journalists for perceived affiliations political, sectarian, or Western,” he added.

Thirty of the 32 journalists killed in Iraq were Iraqis, the committee's analysis found.

A London-based cameraman and a soundman for US television network CBS were the only foreign journalists killed in 2006.

Worldwide, murder accounted for about 85 per cent of the deaths, with 11 per cent attributed to combat incidents and four per cent to covering dangerous assignments like protests. Eight of those killed in 2006 were women.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, founded in 1981, said it independently investigates and verifies the circumstances of each death and does not include reporters killed in accidents like car or plane crashes unless caused by hostile action.