A total of 137 journalists were killed in 2009, one of the most lethal years for media workers on record, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Thursday.

The Brussels-based organization said that 113 of the journalists had fallen victim to targeted killings, overshadowing the decrease to 109 killed in 2008.

IFJ President Jim Boumelha said that the Philippines, Mexico, and Somalia led the list of most deadly countries for journalists in 2009.

'The devastating massacre of 31 journalists and media staff in the Philippines in November and fresh violence against colleagues in Mexico and Somalia have made this a year of terrible bloodshed for media,' Boumelha said in a statement.

The most shocking killings of 2009 occurred in the Philippines where 38 journalists and media staff were killed. Thirty-one media casualties were counted Nov 23 in a massacre in the Maguindanao province.

Iraq, which had been the most dangerous country for most of the past decade, had five killings in 2009, down from 16 the previous year.

Russia in 2009 saw six journalists killed, making it one of the five most deadly countries.

The IJF represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries around the world.