IRAQ: Baghdad's Green Zone hit by barrage of blasts

Record ID: 353380

  • Title: IRAQ: Baghdad's Green Zone hit by barrage of blasts
  • Date: 23rd March 2008
  • Summary: (W1) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MARCH 23, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM BAGHDAD'S GREEN ZONE VARIOUS OF U.S. MILITARY HELICOPTERS OVER NORTHEAST BAGHDAD VARIOUS OF BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM GREEN ZONE VARIOUS OF U.S. HELICOPTERS SMOKE RISING FROM GREEN ZONE BAGHDAD SKYLINE/ SOUND OF SIRENS
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA6LMK06TO67D27VA8O7B8ARL4K
  • Story Text: Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and U.S. embassy, was hit by a sustained barrage of rocket or mortar fire early on Sunday (March 23) but there were no reports of casualties, officials said.
    A large plume of thick black smoke could be seen rising from one area of the central Baghdad area which houses many government ministries and diplomatic missions. Sirens could be heard warning people to take cover.
    Two U.S. attack helicopters could be seen circling over an area in the Iraqi capital's northeast soon after the attack.
    The barrage of about a dozen blasts, which started just before 6 a.m.

    (0300 GMT), came in three separate volleys and lasted for a total of about 15 minutes.
    The central Baghdad area, once Saddam Hussein's presidential compound, was frequently hit at the height of sectarian violence a year ago but such attacks have become rarer with improved security across Iraq.
    While there was no immediate indication of who was responsible for the attack, the U.S. military has blamed past missile strikes on the Green Zone on rogue elements of anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.
    Sadr last month renewed a seven-month-old ceasefire for his militia, the truce credited by the U.S. military for contributing to sharp falls in violence across Iraq.
    However there are fears the ceasefire may be beginning to unravel after Mehdi Army fighters clashed with Iraqi and U.S. forces in the southern city of Kut and two southern Baghdad districts last week.
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