Iraqi TV anchor killed

A PROMINENT Iraqi state television anchorman was shot dead yesterday as he was driving in the capital, a colleague told AFP, as a media watchdog reported the conflict has been the most deadly for the media since World War II.

"Riad al-Saray was killed at 6am in Mansur district (of west Baghdad) as he was on his way to Karbala," a shrine city south of the capital, television journalist Ahmed al-Mullah said.

Traffic police in the area of the attack failed to hear any gunshots but saw Saray's vehicle veer off course and crash into the side of the road, Mullah said, adding that a silencer must have been used to murder the anchorman.

Saray, a trained lawyer born in 1975, joined Al-Iraqiya in 2005, producing and presenting political and religious programmes for the state broadcaster. He was known to strive to narrow differences between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities in his religious programmes. He was also on the local council of the Shula in northwest Baghdad.AFP