Algerian journalist in coma after being shot by ISIS sniper near Tal Afar
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An Algerian journalist is in a coma after being shot by an ISIS sniper near Tal Afar, west of Mosul and the Iraqi government said it is bringing the journalist's family from Algeria to Iraq to be with her.
Samira Mouaki, a journalist with Echourouk, was seriously injured after being shot in the head on Sunday afternoon by an ISIS sniper while covering clashes between the militants and Hashd al-Shaabi forces west of Mosul, Algerian media has reported.
She was transported by plane to a hospital in Baghdad, according to social media accounts associated with the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
Ahmad Jamal, the spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry said Monday evening that "through the Iraqi embassy in Alegiers Baghdad is paying the cost of flying the family of the injured journalist to Iraq."
On Sunday, ISIS launched a massive assault on Hashd al-Shaabi forces near Tal Afar in a bid to regain control of the road connecting Mosul with Raqqa, Syria. The route has been under Hashd al-Shaabi control since late November last year.