AP cameraman killed in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AFP) - An Iraqi journalist working for Associated Press Television (APTN) was shot dead Thursday by gunmen as he went to a mosque near his Baghdad home, AP announced on its website.

Saif Fakhri, 26, joined the long list of media professionals to die in the Iraqi conflict, which is now being described as the most deadly for the press.

Fakhri was cut down on his day off by two bullets in the Sunni west Baghdad neighborhood of Amiriyah which has been the scene of violent clashes between rival armed groups for the past two days, said AP.

The cameraman is the fifth AP employee to be killed in Iraq and the third since December. His wife was expecting their first child in June.

According to an May 18 toll posted by Reporters without Borders on their website, 176 journalists and media workers have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion -- five journalists have died since then.

The vast majority of the victims have been Iraqi journalists killed by death squads and insurgent factions angered by their coverage or ideologically opposed to their employers, whether Iraq or foreign.

Others have been caught in crossfire between US and Iraqi forces, insurgent groups and militias, and some have disappeared after being seized by groups in security force uniforms.