Mosul battle: Third journalist dies after mine blast

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Iraqi citizens fleeing the Old City of Mosul, 23 June 2017Image source, Getty Images
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A total of 28 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the start of 2014

A French journalist injured when a mine exploded in the Iraqi city of Mosul has died, her employer has confirmed.

Véronique Robert was wounded in the blast, which killed two colleagues, on Monday, and was returned to France for treatment, France Télévisions reports.

She later died of her injuries, the broadcaster said in a statement, external.

The mine blast occurred in the Ras al-Jadah district, west of the Old City. Iraq is one of the world's deadliest countries for journalists.

Stephan Villeneuve, a French video journalist, and Bakhtiyar Haddad, his Iraqi fixer, were also killed in the explosion while on assignment for France 2 TV, reporting on an advance by Iraqi forces against Islamic State militants.

Haddad was killed immediately by the blast, while Villeneuve and Robert were seriously wounded and were taken to a US military hospital in Qayyara, south of Mosul.

Villeneuve subsequently succumbed to his wounds, France Télévisions said in a statement posted on Twitter, external early on Tuesday.

A total of 28 journalists have now been killed in Iraq since the start of 2014, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Iraqi pro-government forces launched an offensive to recapture Mosul - the last major IS urban stronghold in the country - last October.