Four Iraqi journalists shot dead near Iraq's Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Iraq, May 9 (Reuters) Four Iraqi journalists were killed when gunmen opened fire on their car near the northern city of Kirkuk today, police said.

They said one of the journalists was the well-known director of a local media organisation which publishes several newspapers.

The attack took place southwest of Kirkuk near the small town of Rashad. It was unclear if the shooting was random or because the four were journalists.

Iraq is the most dangerous country in the world for reporters. The Vienna-based International Press Institute said in April that 46 journalists were killed last year in the country, of whom 44 were Iraqis.

On Sunday, a Russian freelance photographer was killed in a roadside bomb attack north of Baghdad while on patrol with US forces. Six soldiers were also killed in that attack.

REUTERS GL VV1714