Kiwi in Iraq probably killed because he was foreign says PM

1.00pm

An expatriate New Zealander killed in Iraq was probably targeted simply because he was a foreigner, Prime Minister Helen Clark said this morning.

The man, a South African engineer and their Iraqi driver were shot dead yesterday by several armed men in front of their home in Kirkuk, Iraqi officials said.

The Iraqi and South African died instantly, with the New Zealander declared dead on arrival at hospital.

"It seems that these were foreign nationals who were simply targeted because of that," Helen Clark told reporters.

"There doesn't seem to be any other motivation."

The Prime Minister said she could not release details about the man out of respect for his non-New Zealand partner and their children.

She said officials would work with the construction company he worked for to arrange the return of his body.

Helen Clark said the company acted correctly by advising the nearest New Zealand embassy in Saudi Arabia.

French news agency Agence France-Presse reported the engineers were working on a reconstruction project in Kirkuk, an oil-rich city 250km north of Baghdad.

The men were attacked in a drive-by shooting. Gunmen opened fire with AK-47 rifles on the victims' vehicle as they were leaving their residence, Reuters quoted an Iraqi official as saying.

The fatality prompted Helen Clark to repeat the Government's strong advice against travel to Iraq.

"While we appreciate the money is very attractive to people who want to get on top of their mortgage and set their family up in a better financial position the chances are you mightn't come back with your life.

"We just urge people to think about that."

New Zealand does not have diplomatic relations with Iraq although it previously had.

Helen Clark said these could be restarted when a new Iraqi government was put in place.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Mark Burton said New Zealand defence personnel would continue doing what he called their valuable humanitarian and reconstruction work.

"We knew on day one, we said very clearly this was a high risk deployment," he told reporters emphasising tight security measures were taken.

Lieutenant Colonel Ants Howie, New Zealand's senior national officer in Iraq, made daily evaluation of the risks.

"It's a matter of daily judgment," Mr Burton said.

"The bottom line is can they do the work they have been sent there to do in a manner that is realistic and which allows them to achieve the sorts of outcomes they are trying to achieve? So far that has been the case."

He said when the situation became too dangerous personnel stayed on base.

- NZPA

Herald Feature: Iraq