CHRONOLOGY-Attacks on journalists in Somalia

(Reuters) - Somali gunmen released on Monday a French journalist they had kidnapped in the northern Puntland region, a regional official said.

Eight journalists have been killed in Somalia this year alone, making it the most dangerous country in the world for reporters after Iraq, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.

Here is a chronology of journalists who have been attacked in Somalia since a conflict between Islamists and the government began in June 2006.

2006:

June 23 - Gunman shoots dead Swedish television cameraman Martin Adler covering a pro-Islamist demonstration in Mogadishu.

Aug 4 - Vehicle carrying members of the National Union of Somali Journalists is ambushed between Baidoa and Mogadishu. The driver Madey Garas is killed and a journalist injured.

2007:

Feb 16 - Ali Mohammed Omar, a presenter on Radio Warsan in Baidoa, is shot dead by three assailants as he walked home.

May 5 - Mohammed Abdullahi Khalif, a contributor to private radio station Voice of Peace, is killed in Puntland.