DUBAI, Aug 13 (AFP) - Iraqi police detained an Al-Arabiya cameraman in the embattled central city of Najaf on Friday and took him to an unknown location, the Dubai-based satellite television said.
"An hour ago, Iraqi police elements arrested in Najaf the cameraman of Al-Arabiya, Mohammed Fuad, while on duty," said a television presenter.
"Foud was taken to an unknown location and Al-Arabiya crew members could not contact him so far or know his whereabouts," she said.
Najaf, a stronghold of Shiite Muslim militia leader Moqtada Sadr where fighting between his Mehdi Army and US and Iraqi government forces entered a ninth day on Friday, lies 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Baghdad.
On Saturday, the caretaker Iraqi government ordered the Doha-based satellite news channel Al-Jazeera to close its offices in Baghdad for 30 days, accusing it of inciting violence.
The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the forced closure was "a serious blow to press freedom" and expressed concern about "persistent episodes of censorship in Iraq".
Iran on Thursday summoned the Iraqi charge d`affaires in Tehran following the arrests in Baghdad by Iraqi police earlier this week of three journalists with the state news agency IRNA.