DHAKA: Attacks against journalists have grown more "barbaric" in 2014 as 66 reporters were killed and kidnappings "soared," a leading media rights group said.

In its annual report published on Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said there was an "an evolution in the nature of violence against journalists" with carefully-staged threats and beheadings being used for "very clear purposes."

"The murders are becoming more and more barbaric and the number of abductions is growing rapidly, with those carrying them out seeking to prevent independent news coverage and deter scrutiny by the outside world," it said.

The beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) highlighted the extreme danger journalists face in covering modern conflicts, it said.

The media watchdog said that, though there was a slight drop in the number of murdered journalists this year, down from 71 last year to 66, a total of 720 reporters had been killed since 2005.

Kidnappings, meanwhile, soared to 119 - up 37 percent on last year due to the tactics of separatists in eastern Ukraine and armed groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

Of those, 33 were in Ukraine, 29 in Libya and 27 in Syria. Forty journalists are still being held.

"Local journalists pay the highest price, representing 90 percent of those abducted," the report said. "Of the 22 journalists currently being held by armed groups in Syria, 16 are Syrians. All of the eight journalists currently held hostage in Iraq are Iraqis."

Source: Al-jazeera

BDST: 1100 HRS, DEC 17, 2014