LONDON, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The BBC said Tuesday that it will introduce armed bodyguards to accompany its reporters in areas of extreme danger.

    The decision came two days after a drive-by shooting of a BBC team in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, killing a cameraman and seriously wounding a journalist who remains in a critical condition in hospital.

    A BBC spokesman said armed guards would be deployed as an exceptional measure.

    "This is very much a last resort in exceptional circumstances such as high-risk war zones, like areas of Iraq where you literally can't go without armed protection," he said.

    "Certain areas in Iraq are so wild and lawless that you really need armed protection in order to be able to report," he noted.

    He added that Saudi Arabia is not a war zone and would not be considered dangerous enough to justify armed protection.

    According to the International Federation of Journalists based in Brussels, as many as 60 journalists and media staff have been killed around the world so far this year. Enditem