"We, as one of the military authorities in Iraq, we do everything we can to get the truth about what happened in respect of the death of these journalists," he said.

With the investigation of the Tuesday attack under way, Straw said "to wait for the outcome" before coming to any conlusions.

It is "extremely unlikely" that the hotel was designated as a military target in advance, he said, expressing his condolences for the death of the Spanish journalist.

Controversy in Spain was sparked when a spokesman for the Spanish defence ministry said Tuesday that the hotel had been designated a military target 48 hours in advance.

However on Wednesday Trillo called the attack "a very serious mistake," adding that he is sure "the United States, which sent us its condolences yesterday, will make every effort" in its investigations.

On Tuesday, a US tank fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel, the main media hotel in Baghdad, killing Spanish camerman Jose Couso and Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk.

SPACE.WIRE