AP News, May 1st, 2007
Mortar rounds slammed into the U.S.-controlled Green Zone on Tuesday, with one striking within 100 yards of the Iraqi prime minister's offices, a government official said. No casualties were reported.
It was the second attack against the Green Zone in 12 hours, and it underscored heightened concerns about security in the area that is home to the U.S. and British embassies and thousands of American troops.
The first round of explosions occurred at about 10 p.m. Monday and another round struck at about 10 a.m. Tuesday.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said no military personnel were injured and no equipment reported damaged in Monday's strike.
He said the explosions on Tuesday were still under investigation, although "indications appear it was indirect fire," the term used by the military for rocket or mortar attacks.
Garver referred questions about possible casualties among the other foreigners and Iraqis who live and work in the Green Zone to the U.S. Embassy, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Iraqi government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity in discussing security issues, said six mortar rounds fell around the offices of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday and the closest came within 100 yards of the compound.
The explosions late Monday also were directed toward that part of the Green Zone, also known as the international zone, the official said.
Insurgents and militia fighters routinely fire rockets and mortars into the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and British embassies, the Iraqi government headquarters and thousands of American troops on the west bank of the Tigris River.
The attacks seldom cause casualties or damage because they are poorly aimed and the 4-square-mile zone contains much open space. But concerns have been heightened after two Americans _ a contractor and a soldier _ were killed in late March in a rocket attack on the area and two suicide vests were found unexploded less than a week after that.
The adequacy of security in the vast area in central Baghdad more recently came into question in the aftermath of the April 12 suicide bombing in the Iraqi parliament building's dining hall. One lawmaker was killed in the blast, which was claimed by an al-Qaida-led amalgam of Sunni insurgents.
The Pentagon also said Monday that documents captured in recent fighting in Baghdad included two identity cards for access to the Green Zone and an ID card for access to the U.S. Embassy.
