Japanese diplomat Katsuhiko Oku. (AP Photo/File)

    TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The two Japanese killed in norther Iraq were identified as Masamori Inoue, 30, a third secretary from the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad, and Katsuhiko Oku, 45, a counselor from the Japanese Embassy in London.

    According to Japan's Foreign Ministry Sunday, the two Japanese were riding in a black four-wheel drive vehicle that bears a Lebanon registration number. The driver of the car, a Middle Eastern man, was seriously injured.

    Deputy Vice Foreign Minister Shinichi Kitajima said two Japanese diplomats who were scheduled to attend a meeting in Tikrit were missing.

    Kitajima said the two were among 11 Japanese diplomats traveling to Tikrit for the meeting, a conference on reconstruction work in northern Iraq.

    According to the ministry, the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad was notified of the attack by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

    In Baghdad, the US-led CPA said the vehicle was a lightly bullet-proof car and was probably a Japanese diplomatic vehicle.

    The Foreign ministry set up an emergency task force headed by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi to handle the case. Kazunori Tanaka, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, will be sent to Iraq, possibly later Sunday, the ministry said. Enditem