Gunmen shot and killed a young journalist in Iraq, at home in front of his family on Sunday, CNN reported, quoting an Interior Ministry official.

Mazin al-Baghdadi was employed as an anchor and reporter for al-Mousiliyya TV in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul, according to news reports.

The gunmen were dressed as civilians, arrived at his house at about 6:00 pm and told his father they were intelligence officers, CNN reported.

Al-Baghdadi was killed in front of his family when he stepped outside his house to talk to the men.

His killing is the sixth of a journalist in Iraq this year, according to IPI’s Death Watch figures. Four Iraqi journalists were killed in the whole of 2009.

Behind Mexico, Honduras and Pakistan, Iraq is the most dangerous country in the world for journalists this year.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “It is truly disappointing to see the numbers of journalists murdered in Iraq rise again. We should take no comfort in the fact that the figure remains well below its peak following the US-led invasion. Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, and the killers continue to operate with impunity.”