U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon almost blown up in Green Zone in Baghdad

[wiegie]

U.N.'s Ban shaken by blast near Baghdad briefing

Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:46 AM ET

By Mariam Karouny

 

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday after a suspected rocket exploded, sending shock waves through a building where he was giving a news conference.

 

Ban, on his first visit to Baghdad which was unannounced, ducked, grimaced and hurriedly pocketed his notes after the blast which shook the heavily fortified Green Zone where he was holding the briefing with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

 

Without commenting on the blast, Ban recovered his composure and took one further question from a journalist before leaving the conference room. Ban said he had a "very good meeting" with Maliki and pledged U.N. support for his government.

 

There were no details immediately available on precisely where the rocket landed, how much damage it caused and whether there were casualties.

 

The surprise trip came against the backdrop of more violence. Three U.S. soldiers were reported killed and rival Shi'ite gunmen clashed in Basra, Iraq's second city whose oil fields are the source of most of the country's wealth.

 

U.S. forces also announced the capture of a top aide to radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five American soldiers in the holy city of Kerbala in January.

 

ANNAN VISITED IN 2005

 

Ban's trip was the first by the top U.N. official since his predecessor, Kofi Annan, visited in November 2005. The United Nations has been operating in Iraq at greatly reduced levels since international staffers were withdrawn in October 2003 following an attack on their headquarters.

 

The U.N. envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was among 22 people killed in the truck bombing in Baghdad in August 2003.

 

An Iraqi government source said talks between Ban and Maliki would focus on the International Compact with Iraq that Ban unveiled last week.

 

Ban appealed then for international support for the Compact, a five-year reconstruction plan that he described as a "tool for unlocking Iraq's own potential".

 

The Compact, which was discussed by more than 80 countries, outlines targets for Iraq to hit during the next five years, including annual economic goals. It also includes a list of legislation the government hopes to pass by the end of 2007.

[Furd]

Click on the "Mortars jar Iraqi briefing" link in the Watch Video section and see if you can tell which guy has never been to Iraq.

[MikesVikes]

Click on the "Mortars jar Iraqi briefing" link in the Watch Video section and see if you can tell which guy has never been to Iraq.

 

 

"Just another day in Iraq" and I still don't know why they continue to hate Americans.

[H8tank]

I drove on a bridge today, and I almost veered off to a tragic death.

 

That is as close to death as this guy was.

 

I'd rather be in the green zone tonight than east st.louis.

[wiegie]

I'd rather be in the green zone tonight than east st.louis.

 

I think I'd rather be in East St. Louis. (I could show you some places, H8.)