"The fourth week of ... (US-led war) was started with a fierce attack on the international media in which American missiles yesterday killed three journalists and wounded four others," Al-Jazirah daily said.

"It is clear the shelling of television and press offices in Baghdad was not random, but rather targeted because it was carried out in two instalments," the paper said.

"It appears that some people did not like the media contradicting lies issued by war generals ... Unfortunately those who expose the lies get the message by missiles," it added.

The English-language Saudi Gazette said the killing "is yet another attempt to stab the truth to death," and charged that the US troops may be trying to hide massacres it intends to carry out in Baghdad.

"The American Generals of War must be planning major carnage for Iraq that they resorted to carry out yesterday's atrocity that killed Al-Jazeera's Tareq Ayoub, the first Arab journalist martyred in Iraq, a Reuter's cameraman, one German, one Spanish correspondent, and injured several others," it said.

"The only thing left to cover up is the major massacre that will inflict death en masse. This must have been expected by the Americans and may have been planned a while back," it added.

"Many Iraqis have died and it seems many more will die soon. But the truth is a survivor, and all attempts to stab it will fail because its wounds heal faster than the speed of this war's lies," the paper said.

A US tank shelled the Baghdad hotel used by many journalists covering the conflict, killing two cameramen and wounding three other media personnel.

Footage shot by France 3 television showed the tank gun pointed for at least two minutes at the hotel before it opened fire, and without any shots being heard fired at the tank.

Also in Baghdad, a correspondent of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera died after the station's office was hit by a missile.

SPACE.WIRE