More Iraqi journalists killed

BAGHDAD, May 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi journalists continue to be targets in their war-torn country, where some 200 of them have been killed in the past four years.

Two more journalists were killed in separate incidents Wednesday and Tuesday night by unidentified gunmen, according to security sources.

Nizar al-Radi was shot and killed Wednesday in the southern town of Amara as he accompanied colleagues to attend a journalists' workshop. Eyewitnesses said three gunmen in a pickup truck opened automatic fire at Radi, killing him instantly.

In a separate incident near Fallujah Tuesday night, gunmen executed journalist Abdul Rahman al-Issawi and seven of his family members after raiding their home.

Security officials said the unidentified assailants first abducted Issawi, his father and brother from their home, took them to a nearby farm and shot them. "When other family members tried to stop the attackers, five more were killed before they were able to flee," said one official.

More than 200 Iraqi journalists have been killed by different armed groups since the U.S.-led invasion of the country, which international advocacy groups have identified as the most dangerous place for journalists.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police sources said they found 30 unidentified corpses in different parts of Baghdad in the past 24 hours, most of which were hand-bound and blindfolded with torture marks and bullet wounds in the head and chest.

The trend of unidentified dead bodies turning up around the capital recently resurfaced after it temporarily declined with the new "rule of law" security plan launched in February.