13 September 2008
Kidar Suleiman
Shooting
Gunmen kidnapped and shot dead four Iraqi staff members of Iraq's Sharqia TV station in the volatile northern city of Mosul on Saturday, the station and police said.
"Today at noon, armed people kidnapped and killed four of our workers in the channel. They were doing their national duty recording an episode in Mosul," the independent station said in a statement read out by one of its presenters. It said that the dead were its chief Mosul correspondent Musab Mahmoud al-Azawi, two cameramen and a driver.
"The staff of this channel, whose hearts are full of mourning today, confirm our determination to go ahead with its independent work," the statement said.
The four went missing in the early hours and police said they recovered their bodies bearing gunshot wounds on the western side of Mosul. They had been preparing to film a programme on charity for the poor during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups still roam Mosul, which is struggling to shake off a determined insurgency as much of the rest of Iraq enjoys better security.
