A sharp increase in the number of journalists killed as a result of their work was recorded worldwide in 2003 compared to the previous year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported.
A total of 36 journalists were killed as a direct result of their work last year compared to 2002 when 19 were killed.
The war in Iraq was the primary reason for the increase, as 13 journalists, more than a third of last year's casualties, were killed there in hostile actions.
According to the CPJ, the death toll in Iraq was the highest annual total from a single country since 24 journalists were killed in Algeria in 1995.
The CPJ executive director, Ms Anne Cooper, said: "The war that began last March posed many hazards for journalists but seasoned war correspondents tell us that even in the post-war period Iraq remains the most dangerous assignment they have ever had."
Among the risks they faced were banditry, shootings, and bomb attacks, she said. "On top of those risks, it has been particularly troubling to see at least four journalists killed as a result of US military actions in Iraq and the CPJ continues to demand a full public accounting from the Pentagon for these incidents."
In addition to the 13 journalists killed by hostile acts in Iraq this year, another six died from illness or traffic accidents while covering the war, bringing the death toll there to 19.Nearly all journalists killed outside Iraq were targeted, often in direct reprisal for critical reporting, the CPJ said.