A Reuters journalist was killed and three were wounded in Baghdad on Tuesday when a US tank fired a shell at the media hotel where they were working.

Spanish television channel Telecinco said one of its cameramen was also wounded in the blast.

Television cameraman Taras Protsyuk, 35, a Ukrainian national based in Warsaw, died after the blast at the Palestine Hotel, the base for most of the foreign media in the Iraqi capital.

Protsyuk had worked for Reuters since 1993 and had reported from conflicts in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Kosovo.

Samia Nakhoul, Lebanese-born Gulf bureau chief for Reuters, and Iraqi photographer Faleh Kheiber were both treated in hospital for facial and head wounds and concussion. Doctors said their injuries were not serious.

Television satellite dish coordinator Paul Pasquale, from Britain, was taken to hospital with leg injuries, but doctors said he was not in danger.

The four were part of the 18-member Reuters team in Baghdad.

"We are devastated by the death of Taras, who had distinguished himself with his highly professional coverage in some of the most violent conflicts of the past decade," said Editor-in-Chief Geert Linnebank.

"Taras was one of our most experienced television journalists. He is sorely missed by his colleagues, friends and family."

Linnebank said, "I note that the commander of the US Third Infantry in Baghdad has now said that one of its tanks fired a round at the Palestine Hotel.

"The commander said the tank did this after it came under fire from the hotel. Clearly the war and all its confusion have come to the heart of Baghdad, but the incident nonetheless raises questions about the judgment of the advancing US troops, who have known all along that this hotel is the main base for almost all foreign journalists in Baghdad.

"Taras' death, and the injuries sustained by the others, were so unnecessary, " Linnebank said.

Protsyuk leaves behind a widow Lidia and an eight-year-old son Denis.

US General Buford Blount, commander of the Third Infantry Division, had earlier said that an American tank had fired a single round at the hotel. "A tank was receiving small arms fire and RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] fire from the hotel and engaged the target with one tank round."

Meanwhile, a Pentagon official said that Iraqi snipers were believed to be operating in the vicinity of the hotel.

The official said he could not say if US troops were responsible for the blast. But he said that Iraqi forces who operated from civilian areas like hotels would be legitimate targets.

While declining to speculate on the source of the blast, he said, "The hotel wouldn't be a target. We only target military forces and if they place themselves in civilian areas, they become a legitimate military target."

The spokesman said the Pentagon had warned journalists of the dangers of remaining in Baghdad during a war, but "we would never intentionally target news media representatives."