Two journalists working for a Polish television station were killed by gunmen south of Baghdad on Friday, the police said.  

A Pole and an Algerian were riding in a car when a group of gunmen in another car shot at them from behind, said the police, adding that another Pole was also wounded in the incident.

The drive-by shooting, which took place near Mahmoudiya, 30 km south of Baghdad, was the latest in a spate of assaults against people working with foreign companies in Iraq.

At least 12 journalists have been killed this year and most of them were Iraqis working for foreign or pro-US media companies.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)