"In all cases the possibility of holding the vote in January is over, " Mr Haidari told Reuters news agency.

BBC: Iraq parliamentary election 'not possible in January'

They have been in a state of quiet panic as the date for their possible abandonment approaches, says Mohammad Ashraf Haidari, of the country's National Security Council.

ECONOMIST: Afghanistan and the United States

The other journalists who were shot included Harry Burton, an Australian television cameraman, and Azizullah Haidari, an Afghan-born photographer, both of whom worked for Reuters news agency, as well as Spanish reporter Julio Fuentes who worked for the daily El Mundo.

CNN: Italy mourns murdered journalist