ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The family of a Mosul journalist reportedly killed by ISIS have told Rudaw they have had no official confirmation of his death nor have they found his body.
It was widely reported that Muhanad Akidi, an Iraqi Arab, was killed on October 13 at the Ghazlani military base in Mosul, according to Saeed Mamzeen, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Party, which leads the government of he Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil.
The news of Akidi’s killing sparked furore in social media with many people claiming double standards because his reported death did not receive the same attention in western media as that given to the beheadings of four US and British journalists and aid workers.
Members of Akidi’s family in Mosul, which was captured by ISIS jihadis in June, told Rudaw they had repeatedly asked ISIS for his body but they were met with rebuffs. The family have repeatedly visited the main Nineveh hospital, also controlled by ISIS, but have been unable to receive any information.
“We don’t believe Muhanad is dead because usually ISIS dumps the bodies of the people they have killed in the streets or the hospital,” a family member said.
Another Iraqi journalist, Raad al-Azzawi, a cameraman for a local Iraqi TV station, was killed last Friday according to his relatives, after refusing to work for ISIS in Tikrit.
Akidi has been missing for two months and he was reportedly captured while on assignment working for Mosuliya TV. The television channel is supported by Athil Nejifi, head of local of government in Mosul before he fled ISIS for Erbil, where he has been very outspoken against ISIS.
Akidi was one of the few journalists operating inside Mosul and his work was much in demand from regional Arabic television stations.
Two other Iraqi journalists in Mosul have been missing for three months - Maysan Ajawawdi and Jamal Al Masri.
In Mosul, ISIS is now using the buildings formerly used by journalists and television companies to run two jihadi radio stations, one of which is called Al Bayan, and the militant group is planning to start a third one. The stations are run by jihadis from the US, France and Japan, sources told Rudaw.
It was widely reported that Muhanad Akidi, an Iraqi Arab, was killed on October 13 at the Ghazlani military base in Mosul, according to Saeed Mamzeen, a spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Party, which leads the government of he Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil.
The news of Akidi’s killing sparked furore in social media with many people claiming double standards because his reported death did not receive the same attention in western media as that given to the beheadings of four US and British journalists and aid workers.
Members of Akidi’s family in Mosul, which was captured by ISIS jihadis in June, told Rudaw they had repeatedly asked ISIS for his body but they were met with rebuffs. The family have repeatedly visited the main Nineveh hospital, also controlled by ISIS, but have been unable to receive any information.
“We don’t believe Muhanad is dead because usually ISIS dumps the bodies of the people they have killed in the streets or the hospital,” a family member said.
Another Iraqi journalist, Raad al-Azzawi, a cameraman for a local Iraqi TV station, was killed last Friday according to his relatives, after refusing to work for ISIS in Tikrit.
Akidi has been missing for two months and he was reportedly captured while on assignment working for Mosuliya TV. The television channel is supported by Athil Nejifi, head of local of government in Mosul before he fled ISIS for Erbil, where he has been very outspoken against ISIS.
Akidi was one of the few journalists operating inside Mosul and his work was much in demand from regional Arabic television stations.
Two other Iraqi journalists in Mosul have been missing for three months - Maysan Ajawawdi and Jamal Al Masri.
In Mosul, ISIS is now using the buildings formerly used by journalists and television companies to run two jihadi radio stations, one of which is called Al Bayan, and the militant group is planning to start a third one. The stations are run by jihadis from the US, France and Japan, sources told Rudaw.
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