The body of Vatche Arslanian, a Canadian aid worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was recovered on Wednesday afternoon, ICRC spokeswoman Nada Doumani said.

Arslanian had gone missing after two ICRC vehicles, which were clearly marked with the agency's red cross emblem, were caught in crossfire on Tuesday afternoon, Doumani told AFP.

They had been were ferrying staff in the east of the city, she said.

The incident and the "chaotic" security situation with fighting in Baghdad prompted the ICRC team -- one of the only groups of international aid workers there -- to temporarily suspend their operations in Baghdad.

"He was caught in crossfire. About a dozen people were killed in the same incident, other cars were caught up in the shooting, although our car did have the emblem," Doumani said.

Two other staff members who had been in the two Red Cross cars managed to escape and raise the alarm.

"I can confirm that we recovered the body. Two of our colleagues went to seek the body this afternoon, about 20 hours after the incident," she added.

Doumani said it took the two ICRC staffers several attempts to reach Arslanian's corpse.

The ICRC suspended its deliveries of aid to hospitals and victims of the fighting early on Wednesday when it became clear that foreign and local staff could not move about in Baghdad without taking "incalculable risks", according to a statement.

Doumani said the temporary halt to operations would be re-assessed, but the situation was still regarded as unpredictable on Wednedsay afternoon even after US troops were seen taking over the city.

However, the aid workers in Baghdad were adamant they would not withdraw.

"Our colleagues are shocked, there were just six foreign workers. But all of them are staying in Iraq, they want to stay and are convinced they are saving lives," she added.

Arslanian, 48, a Canadian Red Cross logistics expert, had been in Iraq since July 2001 and was one of the aid workers delivering supplies to hospitals and water treatment plants in and around Baghdad.

"The ICRC firmly and insistently appeals to all belligerents to grant safe passage to all vehicles and staff working under the red cross and red crescent emblems and to allow them to perform their live-saving tasks," the ICRC said in a statement released at its Geneva headquarters.

The ICRC warned on Tuesday that hospitals in Baghdad were being overwhelmed by the number of casualties injured in fighting between US and Iraqi forces.

Arslanian was one of 10 foreign workers and about 100 Iraqis working for the aid agency in Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE