French reporters vanish in Iraq

Two veteran French journalists have gone missing in Iraq as concern mounts over the fate of an Italian reporter.

George Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper and Christian Chesnot of French radio have not been heard of since Thursday, the French foreign ministry said.

The two men have often worked together and published a book on Iraq last year.

An interpreter working for missing Italian reporter Enzo Baldoni has been found dead, raising fears that the journalist has been kidnapped.

MISSING JOURNALISTS Enzo Baldoni (Italian) - missing since 19 August, driver found dead near Najaf George Malbrunot (French) - missing since 19 August Christian Chesnot (French) - missing since 19 August Black year for journalists

The editor-in-chief of Mr Baldoni's magazine, Diario, said the interpreter's body was found near Najaf, where militants have been battling US-led forces for weeks. The last contact with Mr Baldoni had been on Thursday.

"One increasingly fears a kidnapping," Enrico Deaglio told Italian news agency Ansa.

On Sunday, a fourth Western journalist, French-American Micah Garen, was released by his kidnappers - more than a week after being seized with his interpreter in the southern city of Nasiriya.

The French foreign ministry said on Saturday that its embassy in Baghdad had been "completely mobilised" but no trace of the two French reporters had been found since Thursday evening.

A joint statement by Le Figaro and Radio France Internationale said the two news organisations were "concerned about their correspondents... both on assignment in Iraq".

The French news agency AFP describes the two as "seasoned Iraq specialists".

Last year they published a book in France called The Iraq of Saddam Hussein "in which they criticised what they said was the failure of Western powers to understand Iraq", the agency adds.