Iraqi TV journalist killed south of Mosul

An Iraqi cameraman was killed on Saturday covering a military offensive to wrest the city of Mosul back from the Islamic State group, his channel said.

The young reporter was killed “covering the battle” near the village of Al-Shura, south of Mosul, Al Sumaria TV said in a short news flash on its website.

The channel named him as Ali Raysan.

Iraqi federal and allied paramilitary forces were working their way up the Tigris Valley south of Mosul on Saturday, the sixth day of the offensive on Mosul.

The huge operation launched on Monday, Iraq’s largest in years, involves tens of thousands of forces and is expected to last weeks.

An Iraqi TV journalist was shot dead by an IS sniper on Friday in the city of Kirkuk, where clashes are still ongoing a day after dozens of jihadist gunmen launched a spectacular raid.