An Iraqi television news presenter was killed on Monday, July 30, when gunmen broke into his home in northern Iraq, wounding members of his family, reports said.

Ghazwan Anas, 27, was shot when gunmen burst into his home as he and his family were breaking their fast for the day, Bashar Mandalawy of the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) in Iraq told IPI. Anas’ wife and four-month-old child were wounded, and his wife is currently in a coma in hospital, Mandalawy said. Anas’ mother and his other child were unharmed.

The journalist had presented social programs on Sama Al Mosul TV station, according to Xinhua news agency. JFO reported that it was likely that he was targeted for his work, which included poking fun at politicians.

Anas is the second journalist to be killed in Iraq this year. In April, Kamiran Salaheddin was killed when a magnetic bomb attached to his car exploded while he was on his way home, as IPI documented at the time. When asked whether there had been any investigation into Salaheddin’s murder, Mandalawy laughed. “I guess I’m confirming to you that the authorities didn’t follow any case,” he said.

The JFO says that 147 journalists have been killed in Iraq since 2003, 52 of them technical assistants.  Today, according to Mandalawy, insurgents and others who would target journalists can easily track down their victims using social media and online networks – and that they get away with murder. “If the government doesn’t put a red line to these insurgents, journalist killings will continue,” he said.

Mandalaway told IPI that Iraqi security forces are not focussed on solving the murders of civilians – and that the issue was often overlooked by the media. “Due to the political conflict, it really takes the attention away from citizens including journalists – all the media follow just the current crises that hit Iraq.”

IPI Deputy Director Anthony Mills said: “It is the responsibility of the Iraq government and security services to investigate media killings and prosecute those who target journalists. The killing of reporters will continue until their killers no longer enjoy impunity.”