The executive manager of the Shaabiya satellite channel said the masked raiders struck about seven in the morning, killing guards, technicians, and administrative workers.

Shaabiya is owned by the National Justice and Progress Party, a small secular party that contested the last two elections, but failed to win any seats in parliament.

The station suffered one of the deadliest attacks on journalists and broadcasters in Iraq, which has been exceptionally dangerous for the media.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, several bomb blasts took a toll.

Thiseyewitnesssays one bomb exploded, and a second detonated a short time later.

Analysts say terrorists frequently set off one explosion to attract a crowd of police, rescue workers and others, tending to the dead and injured.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have been mounting a major security crackdown intended to curb these killings, but it has not yet stopped the tide of violence.