Two journos shot in Iraq

2004-05-07 12:46

Latifiya, Iraq - A Polish and an Algerian journalist, both working for Poland's TVP television, were shot dead by gunmen in Latifiya, 30km south of Baghdad, Friday, their Iraqi companion Assir Kamel al-Kazzaz said.

A Polish cameraman was also wounded in the attack, he said.

The four were driving when gunmen pulled up behind and raked their vehicle with gunfire, Kazzaz said, killing the Polish journalist and bringing the car to a halt.

The gunmen then turned round and came back to fire again, killing the Algerian and wounding the cameraman, he said.

An AFP photographer saw the two bodies on the roadside, in an area around Mahmudiya, Iskandiriya and Latifiya where insurgents have carried out a series of deadly ambushes since killing seven Spanish intelligence agents there last November.

A CNN reporter was killed in a similar ambush in January on the same deadly stretch of road.

In the past, insurgents have targeted only four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicles, the vehicle of choice for the US-led coalition and civilian contractors working for it.

But the journalists were driving in a black Daewoo saloon, a typical four-door family car, that reporters use in an attempt to blend in with Iraqis.

- AFP