New York  - The Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday Iraq continued to be the deadliest place for journalists worldwide, with with 11 deaths among members of the media covering the conflict there this year.

Worldwide, a total of 41 journalists died carrying out their profession while another 22 deaths were being investigated by the organization to determined whether they were work-related. The number of deaths was down from 65 in 2007.

In Iraq, the 11 deaths in 2008 were a sharp drop from a record 32 deaths in both 2007 and 2006, but were still high for a single country, CPJ said.

Worldwide, the drop from 65 deaths in 2007 to 41 deaths this year was due largely to the decrease in fatalities in Iraq.

"The decline in media deaths is consistent with an overall improvement in security conditions in Iraq," CPJ said in an annual report on working conditions for the international media.

It attributed the decline in deaths to the increase in US troop levels in Iraq, the decision by Sunni tribal leaders to fight al- Qaeda and foreign fighters, and the ceasefire declared by Shiite cleric leader Moqtada al-Sadr against US forces. Most of those killed in Iraq were local reporters working for Iraqi media organizations.

A total of 136 journalists and 36 media workers, or assistants to journalists, have died covering the war in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Elsewhere, restive areas in Asis, the Caucasus, conflict zones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India together claimed 13 media deaths. (dpa)