Iraqi gunmen kill two journalists as tensions rise in Najaf

GUNMEN killed two journalists south of Baghdad yesterday, and militiamen loyal to a radical Shi’ite cleric dug in for a confrontation with US troops, clashing with soldiers in two holy cities.

The journalists, a Pole and an Algerian, were shot in their car by gunmen near Mahmoudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, said police lieutenant Alaa Hussein. A second Pole was wounded in the attack.

Lt Hussein said the men worked for a Polish TV station but had no additional information.

In Warsaw, Andrzej Siwek, spokesman for TVP, said he could not confirm the network's employees had been killed but "everything indicates that this unfortunately might be true".

The Mahmoudiyah region lies on the routes heading from the capital to Najaf and other southern cities and has been the scene of frequent gun attacks on the roads.

An American missionary and two CNN employees were killed in February and January in the same area.

In Karbala, US troops skirmished with militiamen loyal to anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The exchange began when a roadside bomb hit a US patrol, damaging three vehicles, prompting a clash between gunmen and troops, the witnesses said.

Al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia was out in force in Kufa and Najaf today, fearing a US assault to capture al-Sadr could be imminent.

Fighters draped with ammunition belts and carrying automatic weapons moved around the streets of the two cities in large numbers and took positions behind earthen mounds and behind buildings.

"We will fight until the last drop of our blood," said one fighter, Dhia Shami, behind a dirt barricade.

An audio recording attributed to Osama bin Laden offered rewards in gold for the killing of top US and UN officials in Iraq or of the citizens of any nation fighting there.

The 20-minute recording appeared on two websites known for militant Islamic messages. The voice sounded like that of bin Laden, but the authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified.