Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces continued to target journalists in areas under their control and on Monday killed another Iraqi journalist in the city of Mosul, press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RWB) said on Tuesday.
The latest victim, Mohanad Al-Aqidi, was the "Sada" news agency's Mosul correspondent and had been kidnapped in July when ISIL took over the city. He was shot several times in the head by ISIL militants in Al-Ghazlani camp in the south of Mosul and his body showed signs of torture.
The latest murder comes only two days after the public execution of a journalist in the town of Samarra.
"Reporters Without Borders is horrified by the Jihadi group's constant crimes of violence, whose victims have included many journalists," a statement here said.
"Islamic State is pursuing a policy of indiscriminate criminal violence that shows no pity towards journalists and does not hesitate to kidnap, torture and murder them," said Reporters Without Borders, adding that "media personnel need the support and protection of the local authorities more than ever." The press freedom organisation lamented the attacks on journalists and said that "the number of Islamic State's atrocities is clearly increasing in Iraq although the fate of some detained journalists is not clear." According to the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), ISIL has killed two Iraqi journalists and has arrested (or kidnapped) nine others in Mosul.
Meanwhile in Syria, ISIL has killed two US journalists and eight Syrian journalists, and is currently holding one US journalist and at least nine Syrian journalists hostage, RWB indicated.