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update on the iraq/al jazeera info

DOHA, Qatar (AP) The Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera announced Thursday that Iraqi officials are expelling one of its reporters from Baghdad and barring another from reporting.

The station interrupted a regular newscast to announce that Iraq's Information Ministry had informed it that correspondent Diar al-Omari, an Iraqi, could no longer report for the network and that visiting correspondent Tayseer Allouni must leave the country.

''Regretting this decision, Al-Jazeera has decided to suspend its live broadcast from Iraq and will only broadcast recorded items received from Iraq,'' the station announced.

There was no immediate announcement of the move from Iraqi officials, who have taken similar actions against several Western networks, including CNN.

Western critics have often accused Al-Jazeera of a pro-Iraqi bias in its coverage of the U.S.-led attack on Saddam Hussein's government.

The station is partially financed by the government of Qatar, which also hosts the U.S. military's Central Command for the region.