Iraq _ again _ is deadliest place for journalists

raq was the deadliest place for journalists in 2008, a respected media watchdog group said Thursday, putting the country atop the list for the sixth consecutive year. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 11 journalists died in Iraq in 2008–a sharp drop from the 31 recorded for 2007, but still substantially higher than anywhere else. The organization said the second-deadliest country this year was Pakistan with five killed, followed by India, where four journalists died in civil strife. Three journalists were killed in Georgia during the war with Russia, which lasted only five days, and three died in civil unrest in Thailand. CPJ said all the journalists who died in Iraq in 2008 were Iraqis working for local media. The organization said the lower death toll appeared to reflect several factors, including the cease-fire declared by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr against U.S.-led coalition forces, the declining presence of Western media and Sunni tribal leaders turning against al-Qaida. Worldwide, 41 journalists were killed in connection with their work in the past year–28 of them murdered, the organization said. CPJ took particular note of the deaths of two Iraqis: Shihab al-Tamimi, head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, who was gunned down in Baghdad, and Livin magazine reporter Soran Mama Hama, who was shot after reporting on prostitution and corruption in Kirkuk. The organization said two journalists were killed in each of five countries: Sri Lanka, Somalia, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Russia. Five countries had one death each: Bolivia, Cambodia, Croatia, Israel and Mexico. In all, seven of the deaths came in combat situations, CPJ said.