The New Zealand government is firmly advising hundreds of would-be private bodyguards seeking jobs in Iraq not to go to the war-torn country.

"It's as strong as it can get," New Zealand Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesman Brad Tattersfield said Tuesday,referring to the ministry's emphatic travel advice on Iraq.

Logged on the MFAT website, the travel advisory reads: "We advise against all travel."

More than 600 New Zealanders have applied for jobs as bodyguards or other security-related positions through a security company in Hamilton, Red Key Security.

Tattersfield told reporters that the government's advice on travel to the Middle East hotspot had been the same for some yearsand could not be made any sterner, given the current wave of kidnappings and violence.

"People have got to make their own choices ... But all I can dois reiterate our advice, and that is that people should not go there, the security situation is obviously very serious there," hesaid.

Tattersfield said the government was unable to assist if New Zealanders ran into trouble in Iraq, as it could normally do in other countries.

Red Key Security Managing Director Terry Phelan said Monday more than 600 people had applied for jobs that had a going pay rate of 600 NZ dollars (about 396 US dollars)-plus a day, despite the upsurge in violence.

The firm is negotiating for contracts in Iraq and has advertised for staff in newspapers published in New Zealand's North Island over the past two months.

Phelan, a former police diplomatic protection squad member, said his company had lost a tender to supply bodyguards for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, but was looking at other options.

He estimated that about 1,000 New Zealand civilians were already working in the security industry in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua