Coverage of the war in Iraq garnered American journalism's most prestigious prizes for international reporting and for photography in breaking news.

　　The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, collected five Pulitzers on Monday - the second most ever awarded to a newspaper in a single year. The New York Times won seven in 2002 primarily for its coverage of the September 11 terror attacks and aftermath.

　　The prize for international reporting went to Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post, for what the board called his "extraordinary ability to capture, at personal peril," the voices and emotions of Iraqis as their country was invaded, their leader toppled and their way of life upended.

　　The photography award in breaking news went to David Leeson and Cheryl Diaz Meyer of The Dallas Morning News for their "eloquent photographs depicting both the violence and poignancy of the war with Iraq."

　　The prize for feature photography went to Carolyn Cole of the Los Angeles Times for her behind-the-scenes look at the effects of civil war in Liberia, with special attention to innocent citizens caught in the conflict.

　　The prize for investigative reporting was awarded to Michael D. Sallah, Mitch Weiss and Joe Mahr of The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, for their series about an elite US Army platoon accused of killing unarmed Vietnamese civilians in 1967.

　　The New York Times won the public service award for a series examining death and injury among American workers.

　　The explanatory reporting award went to Kevin Helliker and Thomas M. Burton of The Wall Street Journal for their groundbreaking examination of aneurysms, which is an often overlooked medical condition that kills thousands of Americans each year.

　　The Journal won a second award for Daniel Golden for beat reporting, for his "compelling and meticulously documented" stories on admission preferences given to the children of alumni and donors at US universities.

　　The commentary award went to Leonard Pitts Jr of The Miami Herald for his "fresh, vibrant columns that spoke, with both passion and compassion, to ordinary people on often divisive issues."

　　The prize for criticism went to Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times for his "one-of-a-kind reviews of automobiles, blending technical expertise with offbeat humor and astute cultural observations."

　　The Pulitzer for editorial writing to William Stall of the Los Angeles Times for his "incisive editorials that analyzed California's troubled state government, prescribed remedies and served as a model for addressing complex state issues."

　　The editorial cartooning prize went to Matt Davies of The Journal News, in White Plains, New York, for his "piercing cartoons on an array of topics, drawn with a fresh, original style."

　　The Los Angeles Times also won Pulitzers in breaking news reporting, criticism, editorial writing and national reporting for its examination of the tactics that have made Wal-Mart the largest company in the world.

　　As news of the Times' Pulitzers reached the Los Angeles newsroom, staff members broke into cheers and applause.

　　"My feeling is this reflects the depth of talent at this paper and the depth of dedication across all departments," Times editor John S. Carroll told the staff.

　　The Blade's articles about the Vietnam War atrocities prompted the military to begin interviewing former members of the unit and to look into why an earlier investigation - never before made public - was closed in 1975 with no charges filed.

　　The awards are given by Columbia University on the recommendation of the 18-member Pulitzer board, which considers nominations from jurors in each category.

　　(The Associated Press)