Mr Ranmuthu and Mr Rashid were travelling on the main road leading north from Hilla to Baghdad at around 11 a.m. (local time) when they were shot at. Mr Ranmuthu was killed on the spot. Mr Rashid was taken to the surgical hospital in Hilla, where he is being treated. At this stage, the ICRC does not know who is responsible for the attack. The Iraqi police and the coalition forces have been informed.

The vehicle in which the two men were travelling was clearly marked with highly visible red cross emblems.

The ICRC and its staff are deeply distressed by the death of Mr Ranmuthu and extend their heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends.

Mr Ranmuthu joined the ICRC in Sri Lanka in 1992. He was 37 years old, married and father to a three-year old child. He was in Iraq to install communications facilities in the ICRC's offices in the country and help train the Iraqi operators.

The ICRC is assessing the implications of this attack with a view to deciding its future course of action in Iraq.

The ICRC firmly calls on all armed persons and groups 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 recently expanded the scope of its activities in Iraq, where it has been present without interruption since 1980. Over 850 staff members are now working in the country and a permanent ICRC office was recently set up in Hilla, bringing the number of such offices to eight.