Seventy-four journalists and other media workers were killed worldwide in 2016, the majority of whom (53) died as a result of targeted attacks, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said today in the second part of its annual report.

Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia were countries where media safety and freedom were particularly at risk in 2016, the head of the German branch of RSF told dpa.

"Afghanistan is a classic example, even if Germany does not want to hear it, because there are always attempts to portray it as being safe," RSF Germany director Christian Mihr said in Berlin today.

"This year the number of emergency requests from journalists in Afghanistan, who turned to us to ask for assistance, rose clearly compared to the previous year as the state no longer had control in many regions and regional warlords were in charge," Mihr said.

The remaining 21 journalists died while they were working in areas such as war zones, and five of the total victims were women.

The most dangerous countries were Syria, Afghanistan, Mexico, Iraq and Yemen.

The 2016 number was lower than last year's total of 101 as many journalists had to flee countries where they were in danger.

According to RSF, a total of 348 journalists are also currently being detained worldwide - a rise of six percent since last year.

- dpa