Kurdistan’s CT on Erbil attack: Media was unprofessional, ignored security situation
During the Erbil attack on Monday, TV channels “acted very unprofessionally and did not consider the security situation in their news coverage,” Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorism warned.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – During the Erbil attack on Monday, TV channels “acted very unprofessionally and did not consider the security situation in their news coverage,” Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorism warned.
On Monday morning, three gunmen attacked the Erbil Governorate building before being killed after several hours of clashes with Kurdish Asayish (security) forces. Security later confirmed the incident as a terrorist attack by members of the Islamic State (IS).
In a statement on Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region Security Council’s (KRSC) Counter-Terrorism expressed its concerns about the local media’s live coverage, labeling it “extremely unprofessional” in dealing with such a dangerous security incident.
“From now on, God forbid, in any incidents like yesterday’s situation, media channels will have no right at all to come near the crime scene and cover the events,” the statement read. “Otherwise, Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorism will take severe legal measures against them and will hold them accountable.”
It also urged media to act responsibly and preserve journalism etiquettes and avoid repeating the same mistakes over again by not considering the security situation.
The statement reiterated that the safety of the Kurdistan Region’s citizens, security, and its Peshmerga members are more important than news coverage, and stressed that such coverage serves the interests of terrorists rather than anything else.
Kurdish security and Peshmerga officials have released similar statements over the past few years, namely in the fight against IS, asking local media to avoid live-streaming military operations for security reasons as terrorists could take advantage and exploit the situation.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
