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Friday, Mar 23, 2007
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Ban shaken by Baghdad blast

BAGHDAD: United Nations 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 addressing a news conference.

Mr. Ban, on his first visit to Baghdad, 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 Maliki.

Without commenting on the blast, Mr. Ban recovered his composure and took one further question from a journalist before leaving the conference room. He said he had a ``very good meeting'' with Mr. 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 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.

U.S. soldiers killed

Three U.S. soldiers were killed in militant attacks in Baghdad and western Iraq on Wednesday, said the U.S. military on Thursday.

A marine and a soldier were killed while conducting combat operations in Anbar. The third soldier was killed when militants opened small arms fire on his patrol in Baghdad. — Agencies

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