Journalists Killed in 2007 - Motive Confirmed: Muhannad Ghanem Ahmad al-Obaidi

Dar al-Salam
September 20, 2007, in Mosul, Iraq

Gunmen believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq killed al-Obaidi, 25, a presenter and producer for the Iraqi Islamic Party-owned radio Dar al-Salam, according to a source at the station. Al-Obaidi was heading home when a car intercepted him and a gunman emerged, the source said.

Police Brig. Abdul Karim al-Jubouri told the independent news agency Aswat al-Iraq that "the gunmen opened fire on the journalist, near Thiyab al-Iraqi Mosque in al-Moharibeen area." The Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, a local press freedom organization, reported that al-Obaidi resisted the gunmen when they attempted to abduct him, which led to his killing.

Al-Obaidi worked on social programs for Dar al-Salam, al-Jubouri said, adding that he was also a preacher at Mosul's Bazwayah Mosque, Aswat al-Iraq reported.

The source told CPJ that Dar al-Salam had received prior threats. Dar al-Salam and Baghdad TV, both owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, a large Sunni political group, have been regularly targeted by insurgents. In April, a suicide attacker driving a garbage truck packed with explosives blew up the front of the building that houses Baghdad TV and Dar al-Salam in Baghdad.