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Alert

"Al-Sabah" journalist gunned down, another seriously wounded in Baghdad

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the murder of journalist Abdel Karim Al-Roubai, a senior technician with the government daily "Al-Sabah", who was shot dead on 9 September 2006 while travelling in a car in Baghdad. Another employee of the newspaper who was with him in the car, Ahmed Sami, was seriously wounded.

"Roubai's death brings to 104 the total number of journalists and media assistants killed since the start of the war in Iraq in 2003," the press freedom organisation said. "This was the third deadly attack on 'Al-Sabah' and its staff in the past four months. We hope this latest murder of a journalist will not discourage the Iraqi press. We also express our condolences to Roubai's family and our hopes for a swift recovery by Sami."

Several gunmen opened fire on Roubai's car on the morning of 9 September, right in the heart of Baghdad. Roubai was hit in the head and died on the spot. Sami, who was seriously injured, was taken to hospital.

The first attack on "Al-Sabah" this year was in May, when a car-bomb went off in the newspaper's garage, killing a print shop technician and injuring around 20 other employees, including journalists. Another car-bomb went off in the newspaper's parking lot on 27 August, leaving two dead and 25 wounded (see IFEX alerts of 29 August and 10 May 2006).

Roubai is the third "Al-Sabah" journalist to be killed. Ahmed Jabbar Hashim was murdered on 1 April 2005, and Ahmad Adam was murdered on 15 May 2005.