US Military Cites Green Zone Attacks
Lauren Frayer - AP
Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, declined to provide details on the number of attacks against the Green Zone, which is also known as the International Zone, but said they were increasing.
"It's clear that there is an attempt to get lucky shots, and there is unquestionably an increasing pattern of attacks here against the International Zone. There's no doubt about that," Fox said at a joint news conference with Iraqi military spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi.
Al-Moussawi said the attacks were coming from inside residential areas, causing difficulties in responding to them because of concern about civilian casualties.
"They are fired from mobile launchers from inside residential areas. The multinational forces, through satellites and aerial pictures, have the abilities to directly respond to the places from which these rockets are being fired," he said. "The main obstacle is that they are being launched from residential areas. This exposes the citizens to big casualties and leaves great material damage."
He said security forces were receiving daily information about the location of the launching pads.
The U.S. Embassy said there were about a dozen explosions, although it could not confirm whether they were rockets or mortars. An embassy spokesman, Armand Cucciniello, said no casualties were reported but he could not provide any information about damage.
U.S. soldiers and contractors in the vicinity of the PX said a building near the store was hit.
A security official working in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office also said a shell landed in the garden of the home of Human Rights Minister Wijdan Mikaeil. Two shells fell short of their Green Zone target, with one hitting Abu Nwas Street near the Jumhuriya Bridge, and a second fell into the Tigris. One shell landed near the home of Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh.
A June 5 U.N. report said insurgents had bombarded the Green Zone with rockets and mortar fire more than 80 times since March, reportedly killing at least 26 people.
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