The Times said in an editor's note that it had fired Brian Walski after he admitted electronically manipulating a picture showing a British soldier directing Iraqi civilians to take cover from a firefight.

The altering of images is strictly forbidden under of code of journalistic ethics.

"After publication, it was noticed that several civilians in the background appear twice," the paper said.

"The photographer, Brian Walski, reached by telephone in southern Iraq, acknowledged that he had used his computer to combine elements of two photographs, taken moments apart, in order to improve the composition."

The photographer appeared to take the image of the soldier motioning the Iraqi civilians to keep down and combine it with a similar shot taken seconds apart in which the soldier is no longer motioning, but an Iraqi carrying a baby is in the centre of the picture looking towards the camera.

The altered picture, which was published on the front page of the main paper in the United States second largest city on March 31, represented a "violation of Times policy" and sparked the sacking of Walski who had worked for the paper since 1998.

The Los Angeles Times could not immediately be reached for comment.

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