Remember them: These are the journalists killed working in Syria and Iraq in the past three years

A total of 39 journalists have been killed the since conflict started in Syria, and 22 have been killed in Iraq

James Foley, the American freelance journalist who was purportedly beheaded on video by the Islamic State (Isis) on Tuesday, is the first American citizen killed by the militant group since the conflict began in Syria in March 2011, but he is not the first journalist to have died in that time.

His death highlights the dangers facing journalists who travel to conflict zones to, in the words of Mr Foley, "expose untold stories".

In the past year, the risks facing journalists have become more violent - with kidnapping now the biggest threat - as Isis strengthens its grip on the region.

Soazig Dollet, the head of Middle East North Africa department at Reporters Without Borders, said: “The number of violations of press freedom from the Syrian government and Isis has decreased, but the nature of the violation has changed, including the use of kidnapping,” she said.

The death of Mr Foley, Dollet says, highlights the clear and present danger all reporters in the region now face.

A total of 39 professional journalists, 12 of them foreign members of the media, have been killed in connection with their work in Syria since the start of the conflict, according to Reporters Without Borders, while 22 professional journalists have been killed in Iraq in the same time.

These are the names of the professional journalists that have died in Syria since March 2011, and the 22 that have died in Iraq.

Syria

19 August 2014 - James Foley - American freelancer

21 June 2014 - Ahmed Hassan Abdel Latif - Egyptian cameraman for the Chinese press agency Xinhua

14 May 2014 - Mohamed Omar Al-Khatib - Moadamiya Media office

14 April 2014 - Mohamed Mantash - Lebanese cameraman at Al-Manar TV

14 April 2014 - Hamza Hajj Hassan - Lebanese journalist Al-Manar TV

9 March 2014 - Omar Abdelqader - Cameraman for Al-Mayadeen TV Channel

9 March 2014 - Ali Mustafa - Canadian - freelance journalist

20 February 2014 - Trad Muhamed Al-Zhuri - Media activist

20 February 2014 - Mouaz Muhi Eddin Al Khaled

9 January 2014 - Mohamed Abdul AlGhani Najjar – SNN

4 December 2013 - Yasser Faysal Al-Joumaili - Iraqi freelance cameraman

1 December 2013 - Bilal Ahmed Bilal - Director (Falasteen Al-Yom TV)

29 October 2013 - Mohamed Saeed - Correspondant - Al-Arabiya

11 October 2013 - Abdulhadi Qashit - Syrian journalist - Al-Baath/Al-Nour

20 August 2013 - Hadi Baghbani - Iranian, working for IRTVU

27 May 2013 - Yara Abbas - Journalist - Al-Ikhbariya TV

2 April 2013 - Abd Al-Rahim Kour Hassan (alias Mohammad AL-Ghazali) - Radio manager -Watan FM

24 February 2013 - Olivier Voisin - Free-lance photographer

25 January 2013 - Mohamed Abd Al-Rahman - Sport journalist for Syria News

18 January 2013 - Mohammed Al-Horani - Correspondant - Al Jazeera

17 January 2013 - Yves Debay - Journaliste - Assaut

4 January 2013 - Suhail Mahmoud Al-Ali - Journalist - Syrian State TV

21 December 2012 - Haydar Al-Soumoudi - Cameraman - Syrian State TV

4 December 2012 - Naji Assaad - Governmental newspaper Tishreen

21 November 2012 - Bassel Tawfiq Youssef - Syrian State TV

15 October 2012 - Hisham Moussali - Video editor for Syrian national television

10 October 2012 - Mohamed Al-Ashram - Cameraman pro-government Al-Ikhbariya TV

26 September 2012 - Maya Nasser - Press TV

16 September 2012 - Yusuf Ahmed Deeb - Journalist - Newspaper Liwaa Al-Fatih.

9 September 2012 - Tamer Al-Awam - Filmmaker and freelance journalist

22 August 2012 - Mossaab Mohamed Saeed Al-Odaallah - Tishreen

20 August 2012 - Mika Yamamoto - japanese journalist - Japan Press

11 August 2012 - Ali Abbas - Head of internal affairs at the government news agency SANA

3 August 2012 - Mohammad Saeed - Syrian national TV

14 July 2012 - Falah Taha - Iraqi freelance journalist

22 February 2012 - Marie Colvin - American journalist - Sunday Times

22 February 2012 - Rémi Ochlik - French journalist - IP3 Press

11 January 2012 - Gilles Jacquier - French journalist - France 2

2 January 2012 - Shoukri Ahmed Ratib Abu Bourghoul - Al-Thawra

Iraq

8 August 2014 - Leyla Yıldızhan, alias Deniz Firat - Kurdish reporter, Firat News Agency

16 June 2014 - Khaled Ali Hamada - Iraqi cameraman for Al-Ahad TV

20 January 2014 - Firas Mohammed Attiyah - Iraq- Freelance reporter - Fallujah TV

23 December 2013 - Raad Yassine Al-Badi - Directeur de l’information - Salaheddine TV

23 December 2013 - Wissan Al-Azzaoui - Présentatrice TV - Salaheddine TV

23 December 2013 - Jamal Abdel Nasser - Producteur - Salaheddine TV

23 December 2013 - Mohamed Ahmad Al-Khatib - Caméraman - Salaheddine TV

15 December 2013 - Nawras Al-Nouaimi - Iraqi TV presenter - Al Mosuliya TV

5 December 2013 - Kawa Germyani - Iraqi journalist - Editor in chief of Rayal Magazine - Correspondant for Awene newspaper

24 November 2013 - ’Alaa Edward Boutros - Cameraman - Nineveh Al-Ghad

24 October 2013 - Bachar Abdulqader Najm Al-Nouaïmi - Cameraman - Al-Mosuliya

5 October 2013 - Mohamed Karim Al-Badrani - Correspondant de Al-Sharqiya TV

5 October 2013 - Mohamed Al-Ghanem - Cameraman de Al-Sharqiya TV

17 November 2012 - Samir Sheikh Ali - "Al-Jamahir Al-Baghdadiya" editor in chief

14 November 2012 - Ziyad Tarek - Diyala TV

30 July 2012 - Ghazwan Anas - Sama Al-Mossoul TV presenter

2 April 2012 - Kamiran Salaheddin - Salahaddin TV

8 September 2011 - Hadi Al-Mahdi - Radio Demozy, Sumariya TV

21 June 2011 - Salem Alwan Al-Ghorabi - Afaq TV

8 April 2011 - Taha Al-‘Alawi - Al-Masar TV

29 March 2011 - Sabah Al-Bazi - Al-Arabiya, CNN, Reuters

29 March 2011 - Muammar Khadir Abdelwahad - Eye Media Agency

Ms Dollet added that while the number of professional journalists killed in Syria in the past three years is 39, there are 122 Syrian citizen journalists to have died in the same period of time.