Al Iraqiya is a satellite and terrestrial

Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

 public broadcaster and television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

 in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 that was set up after the fall of Sadaam Hussein. It is an Arabic language

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 network that serves upwards of 85% of Iraq's population

Demographics of Iraq

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iraq, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

, and is viewed by a significant percentage (about 40%).

The channel began under the name IMN as part of the Iraqi Media Network (or Shabeket al-Elam Iraqi in Arabic) project undertaken. The Science Applications International Corporation

Science Applications International Corporation

SAIC is a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company headquartered in the United States with numerous federal, state, and private sector clients...

 (SAIC) was the contractor for this Defense Department project.

Included in the programming is the very aggressive Political Actuality program “Burning Issues” that tackles the very sensitive subject of Terrorism in Iraq, hosting both the victims and the arrested/convicted perpetrators.

On May 31, 2006, Ali Jaafar

Ali Jaafar

Ali Jaafar was a sports anchorman for Iraqi state television Al Iraqiya who was gunned down in Baghdad on May 31, 2006. He was killed by masked gunmen as he left his home. He and other journalists from the government-funded station have been targeted by insurgents.-External links:*...

a sports anchorman for Iraqi state television was gunned down in Baghdad.