According to reports, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) murdered four journalists on November 4 and five on November 6 in Mosul, Iraq. Since the terrorist group drove out journalists when they took over the city in June, the reports cannot be confirmed.
A source told Rudaw the jihadist group murdered “brothers Ahmed and Aitar Rafi, Mohandis Yasir, Yasir Alqaisi, and Modhas Adari” in the Sumar district last Thursday. This resident said the Islamic State accused the journalists of being spies. On Tuesday, local residents told Haaretz the militants murdered four journalists. Their bodies were given to medical authorities.
ISIS kidnapped twelve journalists in Mosul in October. A security source told BasNews the journalists are at secret prisons. The source also said the militants kidnapped seven other journalists in the last week of October. He does not know where those journalists are held or their status.
The nine journalists are reportedly part of the original twelve.
ISIS allegedly murdered Iraqi Kurdish journalist Muhannad Akidi in October. The Kurdistan Democratic Party confirmed Akidi was killed, but just a few days later, local media said he was alive, and the family denied the incident.
“It is currently very hard to get any reliable information from either Iraq or Syria,” said Reporters Without Borders, adding, “This example of contradictory information demonstrates the difficulty or even impossibility for journalists to work.”