Journalist found shot dead in his home

An Iraqi journalist critical of the government has been shot dead by an unknown assailant in Baghdad.

Al Jazeera reports that Raad al-Jubbouri was a presenter on local television channel al-Rasheed and wrote editorials about institutional corruption for an Iraqi newspaper.

Reports also say a photograph of the body showed bruising to his face which initial police reports say indicated Jubbouri had scuffled with his assailant before being shot in the heart at his home in the western Qadisiya district.

The identity of the killer was not known.

According to Al Jazeera, the head of the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory and a person who knew Jubbouri said the presenter had been threatened several times before his death and gave them telephone numbers to call if anything should happen to him.

Iraq has consistently ranked amongst the most dangerous places in the world for journalists owing to  long-running civil conflict and political tensions in Baghdad.