Ten people killed in Iraq

Ten people were killed in fresh violence in Iraq and two Baghdad hotels were damaged in attacks yesterday, two days before the first anniversary of the start of the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein.

US troops at a checkpoint shot dead an Iraqi working for Dubai-based Arab satellite television channel Al Arabiya and wounded another as they drove through central Baghdad, Al Arabiya colleagues said.

They said another car had raced towards the checkpoint, and the American troops then opened fire on both cars, killing cameraman Ali Abdulaziz and wounding correspondent Ali al-Khatib.

The British military in Basra said four Iraqis were killed in an explosion outside the southern city's Mirbad Hotel. A child was one of at least two people wounded, witnesses said.

Three employees of a US-funded television station were shot dead at Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, and two Iraqis, including a child, were killed in fighting between guerrillas and US troops in another restive town, Falluja. Guerillas have targeted Iraqis seen as cooperating with US-led occupying forces, who blame Saddam supporters and foreign Islamic militants for attacks.