Charred body identified as journalist

A charred body found in the wreckage of a car attacked in Iraq last week has been identified by family members and doctors as Japanese journalist Shinsuke Hashida.

Hashida, 61, was travelling in the car with his nephew Kotaro Ogawa, 33, when they were ambushed south of Baghdad.

Ogawa’s body, found six miles away from the wreck, was quickly identified but officials hesitated to confirm Hashida’s death until his remains had been fully tested.

The tests were conducted in Kuwait, and Hashida’s family helped to identify the body, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda in Tokyo.

Hashida and Ogawa were trapped in a car that exploded after being fired at by unidentified attackers near Mahmmoudiyah, just south of Baghdad. Their driver escaped the explosion but their translator was also killed in the attack.

The two journalists were in Iraq contributing to the Japanese tabloid daily, Nikkan Gendai.

Four Japanese people have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country last year.

Two Japanese diplomats were killed in November when their unarmed car was ambushed near the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.