"On the basis of interviews with journalists who saw them last, and who in some cases had similar experiences with Iraqi security officials, we believe they are being held," Marro said in a statement.

The newspaper said it had no contact with its correspondent, Matthew McAllester, and photographer Moises Saman since Monday.

They failed to file their story and photos on schedule, and other journalists found their room at Baghdad's Palestine International Hotel empty, according to Newsday.

Marro said Iraqi officials had told other reporters in Baghdad that McAllester and Saman were part of a group of journalists being deported because of visa irregularities, but they have not been heard from since, and the Iraqi government had not acknowledged holding them.

"We appeal to Iraqi officials to explain their whereabouts, to allow us to contact them directly and to arrange their safe passage out of Iraq," the editor said.

Iraqi diplomats at the United Nations have told Newsday they were anxious to assist it in finding the journalists but that disrupted communications in Baghdad were hampering efforts, the paper said.

McAllester, 33, is a British citizen who has recently completed a four-year assignment as Newsday's Middle East bureau chief.

Saman, 29, born in Lima, Peru, covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Afghan war for the newspaper.

WAR.WIRE