A security check point in Baghdad's Green Zone
Explosions Strike Baghdad's Green Zone (click here)
QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
The Associated Press
DUSAN VRANIC
Smoke rises over a heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, that houses the US Embassy and Iraqi government after a volley of mortars landed Thursday, June 21, 2007. There were no immediate reports on casualties. (AP photo/Dusan Vranic)
BAGHDAD - A series of mortars or rockets slammed into the U.S.-controlled Green Zone on Thursday, and an official said at least one round struck a parking lot used by the Iraqi prime minister and his security detail.
The barrage occurred a day after the U.S. military acknowledged "an increasing pattern of attacks" against the sprawling complex on the west bank of the Tigris River despite a security crackdown now in its fifth month.
A huge plume of black smoke billowed into the sky and helicopters buzzed overhead after about nine blasts occurred in quick succession around 10 a.m.
At least one mortar round struck a parking lot used by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his security detail, an official from the prime minister's office said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information....
As attacks rise in Green Zone, U.S. tamps down (click here)
Once an isle of security, it now feels a siege mentality as staffers are told to wear flak gear.
By Robert H. Reid
Associated Press
BAGHDAD - A sharp increase in mortar attacks on the Green Zone - the onetime oasis of security in Iraq's turbulent capital - has prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a strict new order telling all employees to wear flak vests and helmets while in unprotected buildings or whenever they are outside.
The order, obtained by the Associated Press, has created a siege mentality among U.S. staff inside the Green Zone after a recent suicide attack on parliament. It has also led to new fears about long-term safety in the place where the United States is building a huge, expensive embassy.
The situation marks a sharp turnaround for the heavily guarded Green Zone - long viewed as the safest corner of Baghdad with its shops, restaurants, American fast-food outlets, and key Iraqi and American government offices....
Once an isle of security, it now feels a siege mentality as staffers are told to wear flak gear.
By Robert H. Reid
Associated Press
BAGHDAD - A sharp increase in mortar attacks on the Green Zone - the onetime oasis of security in Iraq's turbulent capital - has prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a strict new order telling all employees to wear flak vests and helmets while in unprotected buildings or whenever they are outside.
The order, obtained by the Associated Press, has created a siege mentality among U.S. staff inside the Green Zone after a recent suicide attack on parliament. It has also led to new fears about long-term safety in the place where the United States is building a huge, expensive embassy.
The situation marks a sharp turnaround for the heavily guarded Green Zone - long viewed as the safest corner of Baghdad with its shops, restaurants, American fast-food outlets, and key Iraqi and American government offices....
The architecture inside Baghdad's Green Zone is interesting.
CONFLICT IN IRAQ
Baghdad Green Zone is targeted again (click here)
The supposedly safe Baghdad Green Zone was hit by mortars or rockets again Thursday, a regular occurrence.
BY MIKE DRUMMOND
McClatchy News Service
BAGHDAD -- At least nine mortar rounds or rockets exploded inside the fortified Green Zone about 10 a.m. Thursday in what's become a near-daily demonstration of the limitations of the U.S.-led security crackdown and militants' resolve to rain terror on even the most protected area of Baghdad.
The U.S. military announced the deaths of 14 American troops over the past two days, including five slain Thursday in a single roadside bombing in Baghdad that also killed four Iraqis.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, 18 civilians were killed and more than 70 wounded when a gunman rammed a truck carrying a bomb into a municipal building in the Suleiman Bek area, destroying the building and damaging neighboring homes.
The barrage of seven rockets that hit the Green Zone in the morning sent scores of civilians and military personnel scurrying for cover inside box-like concrete bunkers stationed near checkpoints. There were no casualties.
Two other mortar rounds or rockets struck the zone at about 10 p.m. No information about damage or casualties was available from U.S. officials....
Baghdad Green Zone is targeted again (click here)
The supposedly safe Baghdad Green Zone was hit by mortars or rockets again Thursday, a regular occurrence.
BY MIKE DRUMMOND
McClatchy News Service
BAGHDAD -- At least nine mortar rounds or rockets exploded inside the fortified Green Zone about 10 a.m. Thursday in what's become a near-daily demonstration of the limitations of the U.S.-led security crackdown and militants' resolve to rain terror on even the most protected area of Baghdad.
The U.S. military announced the deaths of 14 American troops over the past two days, including five slain Thursday in a single roadside bombing in Baghdad that also killed four Iraqis.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, 18 civilians were killed and more than 70 wounded when a gunman rammed a truck carrying a bomb into a municipal building in the Suleiman Bek area, destroying the building and damaging neighboring homes.
The barrage of seven rockets that hit the Green Zone in the morning sent scores of civilians and military personnel scurrying for cover inside box-like concrete bunkers stationed near checkpoints. There were no casualties.
Two other mortar rounds or rockets struck the zone at about 10 p.m. No information about damage or casualties was available from U.S. officials....
